Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The line graph illustrates the amount of job offered in four different organizations of US such as Manufacturing, Retail, Agriculture and Healthcare through economical point of view from years 1960 to 2020

Overall, in graph healthcare and retail related jobs have increased overtime ,but the manufacturing labor rates face a sudden decline throughout the period. While agriculture sector remained stable after a few starting years.

In 1960, the retail sector showed number of present approximately 7 millions vacanies in US and in 1980 it further went up to 10 millions. At this point, graph is hiked up till 15 millions in 2000 and have seen small increase of about 2 million further and become stable in 2020. However, manufacturing department initially showed job employments of 15 millions but suddenly dropped down after 1980 and reached to about 12 millions vacanices in 2020.

In agriculture department, it showed about 6 million labour requirment in intial year in 1960 then further went down to approximately 3 millions and levelled off till the end. Although, in healthcare industry a major climbed was seen in 1970 approximately where the demand cross the agriculture scetor and grew up upto 16 millions for employment rate.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers all four sectors shown in the graph and attempts to make comparisons over the given timeframe (1960 to 2020). An overview is provided, noting the general upward trends for healthcare and retail, the downward trend for manufacturing, and stability in agriculture. However, there are some inaccuracies in reporting specific data points and years. For instance, the text states that healthcare demand crossed agriculture around 1970, which is not supported by the graph, and describes retail as becoming stable in 2020 despite showing growth to 16 million. Furthermore, some figures are slightly misread. Nonetheless, the main features of the task are adequately addressed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into four paragraphs, including an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs dedicated to the different sectors. Logical progression is attempted, but cohesion is frequently faulty or mechanical. Words and phrases like 'At this point, graph is hiked up', 'However, manufacturing department', and 'In agriculture department, it showed' demonstrate awkward referencing and transitions. Paragraphing is present, but internal cohesion lacks smooth transitions between ideas, making the flow somewhat choppy.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student attempts a range of vocabulary relevant to economic data, such as 'sector', 'stability', 'employment rate', and 'demand'. However, there are frequent inappropriate word choices and collocations, such as 'amount of job offered', 'organizations of US', 'labor rates face a sudden decline', and 'major climbed was seen'. Word formation errors are also present, such as 'vacanies' and 'requirment'. These lexical slips and inaccuracies restrict the precision of the descriptions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but grammatical accuracy is quite low. There are frequent errors in subject-verb agreement, articles, and tense consistency, such as 'the retail sector showed number of present approximately 7 millions vacanies', 'graph is hiked up', and 'the demand cross the agriculture scetor'. Punctuation is also weak, with missing periods and commas. These frequent errors cause some difficulty for the reader and prevent the text from achieving a higher band.

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