Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-18

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 5.5)

The Line graph illustrates the clear information about the comparisons between the number of jobs in four major sectors of the economy in the US between 1960 and 2020.

Overall, the graph represents the total numbers of jobs in the four major sectors (Manufacturing, Retail, Agriculture and Healthcare). In healthcare and retails sectors we can see a increase with the passage of time but in agriculture sector we see consistent jobs decrease..In manufacturing sector we can see clear fluctuation in start its shows rapid growth but after 1980 steady dropped in Jobs.

Manufacturing sectors is a highlighted category with 15 millions jobs that rapid grew in start from 1960 to 1980 but after 1980 its show the consist decrees in the jobs. In contrast healthcare sector shows significant growth with the passage of time each year the growth graph move upward with stable growth.

In 1960, where retail sector graph shows raid raised but agriculture sectors decreased in the jobs but after 1980 we do not see any growth in the jobs so they remain consistent and after 2000 we also see decrease in agriculture sector.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response successfully addresses the main features of the prompt by reporting data for all four sectors (Manufacturing, Retail, Agriculture, and Healthcare) between 1960 and 2020. An overview is attempted in the second paragraph, outlining general trends such as the increase in healthcare and retail, the decrease in agriculture, and the fluctuation in manufacturing. However, some specific data points and comparisons lack precision, and the writing is somewhat repetitive in its description of trends across paragraphs. While the main features are identified, the development of ideas and comparisons could be sharper to reach a higher band. Overall, the response meets the core requirements of Task 1 by summarizing the key visual data accurately.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response has an overall logical arrangement, dividing information into an introduction, an overview, and separate body paragraphs focusing on specific sectors. However, paragraphing and cohesive devices are somewhat clumsy and mechanical. For example, sentences often begin abruptly without smooth transitions (e.g., 'Manufacturing sectors is a highlighted category...', 'In 1960, where retail sector graph shows...'). Referencing is occasionally unclear, and punctuation errors disrupt the flow between clauses. Cohesive devices are used, but their management is inconsistent, resulting in a somewhat disjointed reading experience that places this response firmly at Band 5.5 to 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms related to economic sectors ('Manufacturing', 'Retail', 'Agriculture', 'Healthcare') and trend language ('growth', 'decrease', 'fluctuation', 'steady dropped'). However, there are frequent word-choice and morphological errors, such as 'retails sectors' instead of 'retail sectors', 'rapid grew' instead of 'rapidly grew', and 'consist decrees' instead of 'consistent decrease'. These lexical inaccuracies and non-standard forms occasionally detract from the quality of the writing, though they do not completely impede overall communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but grammatical accuracy is weak throughout. There are frequent errors in verb tense, word form, and sentence structure, such as 'In healthcare and retails sectors we can see a increase' (article error) and 'in start its shows rapid growth' (subject-verb agreement and pronoun confusion). Punctuation is also problematic, including run-on sentences and missing full stops (e.g., 'consistent jobs decrease..In manufacturing'). While the writer attempts complex structures, control over them is inconsistent, with frequent errors causing some difficulty for the reader.

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