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 information of four job sectors number of jobs in the US economy from 1960 to 2020.

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Overall, All three job sectors experienced a gradual growth after their 20 years of time span. In contrast , Agriculture showed a constant decline from it starting to till the end .

First, Retail starts from approx 6 millions in the year 1960 than it shown a continous growth where it records 10 million jobs in the year 1980 before reaching it peak in 2000 where it recorded 15 million jobs after that it shown a minor growth and reach upto 16 millions record high in the year 2020. Subsequently, same trend followed by Healthcare sector also where it starts from just above the zero in the year 1960 and showed significant growth and reach by 11 milliions jobs approx in year 2000 before reaching its record high of 15 millions jobs approx in year 2020.

By contranst, Manufacturing starts all above as compare to the all three sectors in year 1960 with 15 million jobs than goes upto 20 million in year 1980 after that it showed a steep decline till 2020 with less than 15 millions .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student covers all four sectors shown in the graph and attempts to present an overview and key comparisons. However, the overview is slightly inaccurate, stating that 'All three job sectors experienced a gradual growth' when there are four sectors total and Agriculture clearly declined. Data reporting also contains some inaccuracies; for instance, the student states Manufacturing was at 'less than 15 millions' in 2020, whereas the graph indicates it was around 13 million. Furthermore, some trends are imprecisely described. While the main features are touched upon, the lack of complete accuracy in data reporting and the flawed overview prevent this response from reaching Band 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is structured into paragraphs with an introduction, overview, and body paragraphs dedicated to different sectors. Cohesive devices are used to signal transitions, such as 'First', 'Subsequently', and 'By contranst'. However, punctuation and paragraphing mechanics are flawed, including stray periods and awkward spacing. Referencing can also be mechanical, and the logical flow is occasionally disrupted by confusing sentence structures and typographical errors. Paragraphing is present, but overall cohesion is faulty in places, aligning with Band 5.5 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses a sufficient vocabulary range to describe general trends, employing terms like 'gradual growth', 'constant decline', 'peak', and 'steep decline'. However, there are frequent word choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as 'illustrates the information of four job sectors number of jobs', 'reaches upto', and spelling/form errors like 'contranst' and 'continous'. Less common vocabulary is attempted but lacks precision, which restricts the lexical score to a Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control is inconsistent. There are frequent grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('Retail starts', 'Manufacturing starts'), missing auxiliary verbs ('than it shown a continous growth'), and incorrect prepositional usage ('from it starting to till the end'). Punctuation errors are also notable, including missing commas after introductory phrases and stray punctuation marks. These errors frequently distract the reader, though they do not completely obscure the meaning.

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