Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-19

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 6.0)

The given line grap compares four the major sectors contributing to the United States job market from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, manufacturing was the major, retail and agriculture were minor, and healthcare was the least contributor in in 1960, but over the years, manufacturing and agriculture dropped their share in the job market, and retail and healthcare became the largest contributors by creating around 16 million jobs each.

Initially, manufacturing held the top position in the US economy from 1960 to 1980 by creating 20 million jobs in 1980, but it started to sharply reduce its share in the market and came to third position by creating around 13 miilion jobs in 2020.

Moreover, healthcare was the least contributor in 1960, which became one of the largest contributors in 2020. Also, agriculture sector along with retail was creating around 6 million jobs in 1960, but it plummeted badly and became the the least contributor in 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response effectively covers all major sectors shown in the line graph, providing an accurate overview and selecting key features for comparison. The student correctly identifies the dominant position of manufacturing initially, its subsequent decline, and the growth paths of retail and healthcare to become the top sectors by 2020. Agriculture's continuous drop is also accurately reported. While some exact figures are described using approximations like 'around 16 million', these align well with the visual data. The overview captures the main global trends successfully without missing critical details. Thus, the response fully satisfies the requirements of Task 1.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The response is logically organised and easy to follow. It begins with a clear introductory sentence, moves into a concise overview paragraph, and then provides specific body details divided logically. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'Initially', and 'Moreover' are used appropriately to guide the reader through the data. Paragraphing is handled correctly, separating the overview from the detailed body points. Although the progression is clear throughout, the cohesion remains somewhat straightforward rather than fully flexible, which keeps this criterion solidly at the band 7 level.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary to describe trends, using appropriate verbs and nouns such as 'dropped', 'share', 'plummeted badly', and 'contributors'. However, there are a few lexical inaccuracies and typos, notably 'grap' instead of 'graph' in the opening line, 'miilion' instead of 'million', and the slight misuse of 'least contributor in 1960' when referring to healthcare (which started at 2 million). Less common vocabulary is attempted with some success, but minor spelling and word-choice errors prevent a higher score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating relative clauses and subordinate conjunctions (e.g., 'which became one of the largest contributors in 2020'). There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, such as 'grap compares four the major', a duplicated preposition in 'in in 1960', and 'agriculture sector along with retail was creating around 6 million jobs in 1960' (which inaccurately groups agriculture and retail together for that year, since retail was actually 6M and agriculture was also 6M, though phrased as a single noun phrase causing slight confusion). Despite these errors, meaning is generally clear and communication is not severely impeded.

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