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 graph illustrates the number of jobs in four sectors of the economy in the United States, from year 1960 to 2020.

Among the four sectors, healthcare and retail sector had least number of job openings in initial years. However they saw a gradual increase over the following years. While jobs in manufacturing sector rose slightly and then saw a decline afterwards. Agriculture sector remained almost consistent after experiencing a slight drop. .Manufacturing sector had 15 million job openings in 1960 and increased upto 20 million by 1980, followed by a downward trend till 2020. .Retail and agriculture industries were standing at the same position in 1960- had 6 million jobs but the trend followed an opposite direction afterwards and the jobs dropped to 13 million. Job openings increased sharply till 2000 followed by a steady pattern having 15 million jobs. In contrast, agriculture sector faced a sharp decline till 1980 to 3 million jobs and continued dropping on a steady pace to 2 million. .Health care sector started from 2 million job openings in 1960 and climbed to 15 million jobs by 2020, which is the same number of jobs as retail sector

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features and trends of the four economic sectors between 1960 and 2020. An overview is present at the beginning, noting the contrasting trajectories of healthcare and retail compared to manufacturing and agriculture. Key figures are correctly identified, such as manufacturing starting at 15 million in 1960, peaking at 20 million in 1980, and declining to 13 million in 2020. However, there is some minor confusion in sentence structure regarding retail and agriculture values, where the phrase 'the jobs dropped to 13 million' is awkwardly attributed after mentioning 1960 data. Despite minor mechanical flaws, the core data is accurately selected and compared, fulfilling the Band 6/7 criteria well.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response has an overall coherent arrangement, opening with an introductory statement followed by body details. However, the paragraphing is severely hindered by erratic formatting, spacing issues, and standalone periods used instead of proper paragraph breaks (e.g., '.Manufacturing sector...'). While cohesive devices like 'However', 'While', and 'In contrast' are attempted to show contrast, the overall structural flow is disrupted by punctuation and layout anomalies. Referencing is sometimes unclear, particularly when jumping between industries. Cohesion feels mechanical and clumsy in places, keeping this criterion at a Band 5.5.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, incorporating terms like 'job openings', 'gradual increase', 'downward trend', and 'sharp decline'. Less common lexical items are attempted, such as 'consistent' and 'opposite direction'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as 'least number of job openings' instead of 'the fewest', and awkwardly phrasing retail and agriculture industries 'standing at the same position in 1960'. Spelling is generally acceptable, but vocabulary limitations and occasional imprecise phrasing restrict the score to a Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, utilising subordinate clauses with 'while', 'after', and 'when'. However, grammatical control is inconsistent. There are missing articles ('from year 1960', 'Agriculture sector'), preposition errors ('increased upto', 'on a steady pace'), and punctuation failures where periods are placed randomly in the middle of lines before sentences. Complex sentence attempts frequently contain minor structural awkwardness. While communication is not severely impeded, the frequency of basic grammatical errors and punctuation issues caps the score at a Band 5.5.

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