Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-17

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The graph below gives information about the number of jobs in four sectors of the economy in the US between 1960 and 2020.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Number of jobs in four sectors of the economy in the US, 1960-2020

Student answer (Band 6.0)

The line graph illustrates the number of jobs in four different sectors, namely manufacturing, retail, agriculture and healthcare,over a period from 1960 and 2020.

Overall,there was a sharp increase in the health and retail sector throughout the timeline while the manufacturing sector fell steadily.

In 1960, around 15 million jobs were available in the manufacturing sector and had the highest number of jobs at that time. In contrast, around 6 million jobs were available in the agriculture and retail sector and considerably fewer job than the manufacturing sector. The Healthcare sector had around 2 million jobs which is lowest at that time.

over the next 20 years, the number of jobs in the retail and healthcare sectors rose to approximately 10 million and 5 million, respectively. By 2000, these figures had increased further to 15 million in retail and 11 million in healthcare. In 1980, the manufacturing sector reached its peak, at approximately 20 million jobs. In contrast the agriculture sector had lowest percentage in the number of job at around 3 million. Meanwhile, employment opportunities begin to decline, falling to approximately 17 million by 2000. The agriculture sector remain stable around 3 million.

In 2020, healthcare and retail sector had largesr employment figures, at approximately 16 million each. while, the manufacturing sector had 13 million employment opportunities. Agriculture sector had the lowest employment opportunities approximately 2 million by 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The student covers all parts of the task well, providing an overview and selecting key data points to report and compare across the four sectors between 1960 and 2020. The main features are identified accurately, such as the rise in healthcare and retail alongside the decline in manufacturing and agriculture. Data points are generally supported with figures from the chart, e.g., 'In 1960, around 15 million jobs were available in the manufacturing sector'. However, there are minor slips in data reporting, such as stating that agriculture had the 'lowest percentage in the number of job' (mixing percentage with raw numbers) and some chronological jumps in the fourth paragraph which slightly hinder the seamless flow of data presentation. Nevertheless, the requirements of Task 1 are thoroughly satisfied, earning a solid band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall progression and is divided into logical paragraphs, beginning with an introduction, followed by an overview, a baseline description for 1960, and subsequent developments up to 2020. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'In contrast', and 'Meanwhile' are used to connect ideas effectively. However, referencing and paragraph transitions occasionally feel mechanical or slightly disjointed, particularly in the fourth paragraph where the timeline bounces back and forth between 1980 and 2000 ('In 1980, the manufacturing sector reached its peak... Meanwhile, employment opportunities begin to decline, falling to approximately 17 million by 2000'). Paragraphing is present and appropriate, but tighter chronological sequencing would elevate the score further.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate to sufficient range of vocabulary suitable for the task, successfully employing terms like 'employment opportunities', 'decline', 'peak', and 'stable'. Less common lexical items are attempted, such as 'substantially' (implied) and sector-specific terms like 'manufacturing', 'retail', 'agriculture', and 'healthcare'. There are, however, occasional lexical inaccuracies and awkward word choices, such as 'largesr' (typo), 'lowest percentage in the number of job' (inappropriate collocation and use of percentage), and verb tense/form slips ('opportunities begin to decline' instead of began). Despite these flaws, communication is never impeded, and the vocabulary is sufficiently varied for the prompt.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at subordinate clauses and comparative structures, such as 'while the manufacturing sector fell steadily' and 'By 2000, these figures had increased further to 15 million'. There are several grammatical errors and punctuation oversights throughout the text, including missing spaces after commas and periods ('healthcare,over', '1960, around', 'In contrast the agriculture sector'), subject-verb agreement issues ('The agriculture sector remain stable'), and tense inconsistencies ('begin' instead of 'began'). However, the majority of simple sentences are accurate, and the errors do not impede overall communication.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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