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 tracks about the number of jobs in various departments in US between 1960 and 2020.
In 1960 around 2.5 million jobs are available in healthcare sector.This number rises gradually and reaches to 5 million in 1980.Then in 2000 almost 11 million of jobs are available in healthcare department which escalates to 16 million in in 2020.
In agriculture department there are 6 million jobs are available in 1960 which reduces to 3 million in 1980.Then in 2020 jobs reduces to 1 million.
There are 6 million jobs available in retail in 1960.This number jumps up to 10 million in 1980 and than rises to 15 million in 2000.The number of jobs slightly increases to 16 million in 2020.
In manufacturing sector there are 15 million seats vacant in 1960. Then there is a huge increase in demand and jobs in manufacturing sector increases to 20 million in 1980.
Then there is a slight reduction in the jobs and then the numer of jobs which are available drops to 16 million in 2000. This number falls significanty and reduces to 14 million in 2020.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student attempts to cover all four sectors across the given time period, meeting the basic requirement to report main features. However, there is a notable absence of an introductory overview, which prevents the response from achieving a higher band. Furthermore, there are some minor inaccuracies in reporting specific data points, such as stating that healthcare started at 2.5 million in 1960 when the chart shows it near 2 million, and stating that agriculture drops to 1 million in 2020 when it is closer to 2 million. Despite these minor discrepancies, the main trends—such as the massive growth in retail and healthcare alongside the decline in agriculture—are successfully identified and supported with figures.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is arranged into paragraphs, with each sector given its own paragraph, making the overall structure reasonably clear and easy to follow. However, the lack of an overall summary paragraph impacts cohesion and the logical flow of the task as a whole. Cohesive devices within sentences are somewhat repetitive, relying heavily on simple time markers like 'Then' and 'In [year]'. Paragraphing is used to separate ideas by category, but referencing and transitional phrasing between the different economic sectors could be smoother and more varied to demonstrate higher-level organizational skills.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, with domain-specific terms such as 'healthcare sector', 'agriculture department', 'retail', and 'manufacturing sector'. The student attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'escalates', 'gradually', and 'reduction'. However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and unnatural collocations, such as 'seats vacant' when discussing manufacturing jobs, and 'numer' (a spelling error). Word choices are generally functional and allow the message to be communicated, but lack the precision and variety expected at higher band levels.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though simple structures predominate. There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings throughout the text, such as 'tracks about the number' (unnecessary preposition), 'are available' used inconsistently with tense, and 'in in 2020' (repeated preposition). Punctuation errors also occur, such as missing spaces after periods. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to pull the grammar score into the mid-range category.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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