Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The line gragh demonstrates the number of jobs from 1960 to 2020 in Manufacturing, Retail, Agriculture and Healthcare sectors of the economy in the US.

Overall, the number of jobs in manufacturing and agriculture sector declines while Retail and healthcare sector shows an increment over the time period.

Regarding the increment in number of jobs the retail, healthcare

and Manufacturing sectors shows a continuously increase till 1980.But, after 1980 the number of jobs in manufacturing sector rapidly falls while the amount of jobs get steadly increased in retail and healthcare sector till 2020.

By contrast,the number of jobs in Agriculture sector is get decreased by 1980.Then it remains nearly constant till 2000 and also in 2020 we see a little decrement in it.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student attempts to cover the main trends in the line graph, identifying that manufacturing and agriculture declined while retail and healthcare increased. However, there is a factual inaccuracy in the body paragraph where the writer claims manufacturing increased until 1980 before falling, which misreads the start of the period (manufacturing actually rose from 15 million in 1960 to 20 million in 1980, but the overview misses key comparisons). Furthermore, the response suffers from a significant under-length penalty, containing only 123 words compared to the mandatory 150-word minimum. Because the word count falls well short and the development is consequently limited and imprecise, the task achievement score is restricted to Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The text is organized into an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. However, paragraphing and logical progression are hampered by awkward formatting, line breaks, and insufficient cohesive devices. Cohesive markers like 'Overall', 'Regarding', and 'By contrast' are attempted, but referencing and transitions are often mechanical or clumsy (e.g., 'the amount of jobs get steadly increased'). The lack of a fully cohesive and well-structured flow keeps the response at Band 5.0 according to the coherence criteria.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is relatively basic and repetitive, utilizing terms like 'number of jobs', 'increment', and 'decreased'. There are also spelling errors ('gragh' instead of graph, 'steadly' instead of steadily) and awkward word choices ('amount of jobs' instead of number of jobs). While the student attempts some less common vocabulary such as 'increment' and 'decrement', the control over word choice and collocation is weak. This sits comfortably within the Band 5.0 descriptor range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response displays a limited range of sentence structures, with frequent grammatical and mechanical errors. Examples include tense and agreement slips ('the number of jobs in Agriculture sector is get decreased') and punctuation issues (extra spaces, missing spaces after periods, and a comma splice 'By contrast,the number'). Complex structures are attempted but are often faulty or awkward. Although meaning is generally discernible, the frequency of errors places this response at Band 5.0.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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