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 number of jobs in manufacturing, retail, agriculture and healthcare in 1960 were 15 million, 6 million, 6 million and 2 million respectively. The jobs in manufacturing sector were increased from 1960 to 1980 and decreased from 1980 to 2020. The jobs in retail sectors has been on the increasing trend since 1960. The jobs in the Agriculture sector has been decreased from 1960 to 1980, and has been constant from 1980 to 2000, and has been decreased from 2000 to 2020. The jobs in healthcare has been on the increasing trend from 1960 to 2020. The sector, which has the greatest growth in the number of jobs between 1960 and 2020 is healthcare. The sector, which has the least change in the number of jobs between 1960 and 2020 is agriculture. There is a strong positive correlation between the number of jobs in retail and healthcare between 1960 and 2000.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers all parts of the prompt well by presenting key data points from 1960 and describing the overall trends across all four sectors. The candidate correctly identifies that healthcare experienced the greatest growth and agriculture the least change. However, the response lacks a clear overview paragraph summarising the main overall trends, which is an essential requirement for a high band in Academic Task 1. Some data points are listed sequentially without sufficient synthesis, but the main features are nevertheless reported.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The text suffers from a lack of paragraphing, appearing as a single dense block of text, which negatively impacts overall coherence. While individual sentences are logically sequenced and follow a clear progression through the data, the absence of paragraphs makes the structure mechanical. Cohesive devices are used, but they are repetitive, with multiple sentences beginning with 'The jobs in...' or 'and has been...'. Referencing and substitution could be used more effectively to connect ideas smoothly.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, with appropriate sector-specific terms such as 'manufacturing', 'retail', 'agriculture', and 'healthcare'. The candidate attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'correlation', 'increasing trend', and 'greatest growth'. However, word choice and collocation are sometimes awkward, for example saying 'The jobs in manufacturing sector were increased' rather than 'Employment in the manufacturing sector increased'. Spelling is generally accurate, but the range of vocabulary remains somewhat limited.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar is inconsistent. There are several passive voice errors and tense inaccuracies, such as 'were increased' instead of the active 'increased', and 'has been decreased' instead of 'decreased'. The use of present perfect continuous tenses ('has been on the increasing trend') is frequently awkward or inappropriate for simple historical data description. Punctuation is basic, but communication is rarely impeded.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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