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 graph illustrates the number of jobs in four sectors of economy in the US between 1960 and 2020.
Overall, the retail and healthcare jobs continuously increases between 1960 and 2020 as compared to agriculture and manufacturing.
Between 1960 and 1980, the number of manufacturing jobs increased from 15 million to 20 million. Over the same period, employment in retails increased from 6 million to 10 million, while the figure for healthcare increased from 3 million to 5 million. In contrast, the number of agriculture jobs decreased from 6 million to 3 million.
Moreover, between 1980 and 2000, the amount of retail employments rised from 10 million to 15 million and of healthcare from 5 million to 12 million. On the other hand, the numbers of jobs for manufacturing fell from 20 to 18 million, while the jobs for agriculture remains constant.
The figures for retail and agriculture jobs shows rose between 2000 and 2020 while for manufacturing and healthcare shows decline.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The student covers all parts of the task by reporting data for all four sectors across the period. An overview is attempted, stating that retail and healthcare jobs increased while agriculture and manufacturing declined overall. However, there are some minor data inaccuracies in the body paragraphs; for example, the student states that retail jobs increased to 15 million and healthcare to 12 million by 2000, whereas the visual data shows retail at 15 million and healthcare at 11 million. Despite these minor discrepancies, the main features and comparisons are clearly selected and reported. The response meets all requirements for a Band 6.5 or 7.0 in Task Achievement.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5
The response is structured with a clear introduction, an overall statement, and chronological body paragraphs. Cohesive devices such as 'Between 1960 and 1980', 'Over the same period', 'In contrast', and 'On the other hand' are used effectively to link ideas and guide the reader through the data. Paragraphing is logical and appropriate for an academic task. Progression is generally clear throughout, though the final concluding sentence is slightly disjointed and ungrammatical. Overall, the organizational structure is solid, corresponding well to a Band 7.0 descriptor.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range suitable for describing trends, using terms such as 'increased', 'decreased', 'fell', and 'remains constant'. However, there are noticeable lexical and collocation errors, such as 'number of jobs in four sectors of economy' (missing article), 'employments' used as a countable noun, and 'rised' instead of 'rose'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with limited success. These inaccuracies do not impede communication, placing the response firmly at Band 6.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response includes a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, utilizing subordinate clauses and temporal markers. However, there are several grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues (e.g., 'retail and healthcare jobs continuously increases', 'the numbers of jobs... remains constant', 'figures... shows rose') and incorrect past tense forms ('rised'). Punctuation is generally fine, but the frequent grammatical slips prevent the score from reaching a higher band. These errors rarely impede comprehension, justifying a Band 6.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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