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 changes in number of jobs in US economy in four sectors: Manufacturing, Agriculture, Retail and Healthcare in terms of millions from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, the Manufacturing sector was the major employmet provider till 1980, while Agriculture was at the lowest job provider throughout the period. In contrast, the healthcare showed the dramatic rise as an employer and retail sector also rose its jobs number from start to end.

In 1960, the manufacturing sector offered 15 million jobs which was greater than retail and agricultural jobs both of them had almost 6 million employment opportunity. While the agriculture remained at the lowest at 2 million jobs.

There was an increase in the jobs in manufacturing sector of 20 million in 1980, after that the rate dropped to almost 13 million in 2020. In the same way, the jobs in retail sector rose to 10 million in 1980 and followed by healthcare at 5 million in 1980, while agricultural employment reached at only 3 million.

There was a sharp increase in employment in healthcare which were at 16 million in 2020 and agriculture dropped to only 2 million jobs,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features, trends, and comparisons across the four economic sectors shown in the graph. An adequate overview is provided in the second paragraph, highlighting the dominant position of manufacturing until 1980, the consistently low figures for agriculture, and the dramatic rise in healthcare. Key data points are accurately cited, such as manufacturing peaking at 20 million in 1980 and healthcare reaching 16 million in 2020. However, there are minor inaccuracies in the historical baseline data for 1960 (e.g., stating healthcare started at 2 million when it was closer to 2 million, but agriculture started at 6 million rather than 2 million). Despite these minor misreadings, the overall trends and comparisons are well developed and satisfy the requirements for a Band 6.5 to 7.0 response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response exhibits a generally clear overall progression and organization. The information is logically grouped into an introduction, an overview paragraph, and subsequent body paragraphs detailing specific years and sectors. Cohesive devices are used to connect ideas, such as 'Overall,' 'In contrast,' and 'While,' though some transitions feel slightly mechanical or repetitive ('There was a...'). Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct stages of the analysis. Referencing is mostly clear, although occasional awkward phrasing in sentence linkages causes slight disruptions in the flow. Overall, the structural progression aligns well with the descriptors for Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting less common lexical items such as 'employment provider,' 'dramatic rise,' and 'employment opportunity.' There are, however, noticeable word choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as 'employmet' (spelling error), 'rose its jobs number,' and 'agricultural employment reached at only.' Some phrasing is slightly unnatural or clumsy, such as 'lower job provider' instead of 'lowest job provider.' While vocabulary errors occur, they do not impede communication, placing the response solidly in the Band 6 category.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writing includes a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, featuring relative clauses ('which was greater than...') and subordinate clauses introduced by 'while' and 'after that.' Grammatical control is mixed; there are several successful complex sentences, but also notable errors in prepositions and verb forms, such as 'reached at only' and missing articles or pluralization issues ('The Line graph illustrates the changes in number of jobs'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, and errors rarely impede overall comprehension, reflecting the characteristics of Band 6.0 grammar.

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