Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

The line graph illustrates the changes in employment figures across four US economic sectors between 1960 and 2020.

Overall, Retail and Healthcare experienced significant overall growth, while Agriculture steadily declined. Manufacturing, despite initial growth, finished as the second lowest sector.

In 1960, Manufacturing led with 15 million jobs, peaking at 20 million in 1980 before dropping to 13 million by 2020. Conversely, Agriculture started at 6 million and gradually fell to just under 2 million, making it the smallest sector by the end of the period.

Retail and Healthcare grew steadily throughout the period. Retail rose from 6 million to 16 million jobs in 2020. Healthcare saw the most dramatic increase, climbing from 2 million in 1960 to equal Retail at 16 million in 2020, becoming the joint-highest employment sector.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers all four economic sectors across the given timeframe, identifying key trends such as the significant growth in Retail and Healthcare alongside the steady decline in Agriculture. A clear overview is provided, highlighting the main overall movements. Data points are accurately cited, such as Manufacturing peaking at 20 million in 1980 and Healthcare climbing to 16 million by 2020. However, the task requires a minimum of 150 words, and this response contains only 130 words. This under-length shortfall prevents full development of all comparative features and directly impacts the task achievement score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is well-structured, featuring an introductory sentence, a clear overall summary paragraph, and two body paragraphs that logically group the data. Cohesive devices are used effectively to guide the reader through the data comparisons, as seen with phrases like "Conversely" and "throughout the period". Paragraphing is handled appropriately, with each section having a distinct focus on either overall trends or specific sectoral breakdowns. Progression throughout the text is clear and logical, resulting in a cohesive and easy-to-follow report.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary appropriate for an academic task, using precise reporting verbs and nouns such as "illustrates," "employment figures," "sector," and "peaking." Less common lexical items are attempted with good awareness of collocation, for instance, "dramatic increase" and "joint-highest employment sector." Word choice is generally accurate and natural, though the limited overall length restricts the opportunity to showcase a wider variety of advanced vocabulary. There are no noticeable spelling or word-choice errors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.5

The writing exhibits a good variety of sentence structures, mixing simple sentences with effective complex forms, such as "Manufacturing, despite initial growth, finished as the second lowest sector." The majority of sentences are grammatically error-free, demonstrating sound control over tense consistency (past simple for historical data) and punctuation. Minor slips are absent, and syntactic control remains steady throughout the short text. The accuracy and structural variety achieved are commendable, reflecting a high level of grammatical competence.

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