Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

The given line graph compares four 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 employer 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 as employment generator in the US economy from 1960 to 1980 by creating 20 millions jobs in 1980, but it started to sharply reduce its share in the market and came to the third position by creating around 13 miilions jobs in 2020.

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

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features, trends, and comparisons across the four sectors between 1960 and 2020. The overview effectively captures the primary shifts, noting that manufacturing and agriculture declined while retail and healthcare grew significantly. Key data points are accurately cited, such as manufacturing peaking at 20 million in 1980 and dropping to 13 million by 2020, and retail and healthcare reaching around 16 million each at the end of the period. Ideas are well-supported with relevant figures, though minor grouping could be slightly tighter, the overall response fully meets the criteria for Band 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The response is clearly structured with an introduction containing a well-formulated overview, followed by logical body paragraphs detailing the trends. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'Initially', and 'Moreover' are used effectively to guide the reader through the data. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate general trends from specific sectoral developments. Progression is logical throughout, maintaining a clear overall structure, which comfortably places this response in Band 7.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms like 'contributing sector', 'plummeted badly', and 'employment generator'. There are occasional slight inaccuracies and typos, such as 'miilions' instead of 'millions' and awkward phrasing like 'least employer' instead of 'smallest employer'. However, the vocabulary is varied enough to allow flexible and precise reporting of the graph data, earning a solid Band 6.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as relative clauses ('which became one of the largest employer') and contrastive structures ('while retail and healthcare became...'). Grammatical control is generally good, though there are minor errors such as subject-verb agreement or article omission ('the healthcare was', 'one of the largest employer'). These errors do not impede communication and allow the text to achieve a Band 6.5.

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

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