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 given line chart illustrates job availability in four different sectors of the economy in the US from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, it was shown from the chart that jobs in the manufacturing sector were in the highest demand, whereas the fewest people were in agricultural work. However, jobs in retail and healthcare showed massive popularity throughout the whole period.

In the manufacturing sector, over 15 million employment opportunities were observed in 1960 followed by 20 million in 1980. However, these jobs went down steadily till 2020 reaching around 13 million. On the other hand retail, and agriculture jobs were 2 million and 6 million respectively. This rapid jump was observed and huge surge identified in these two sectors which were reaching around 16 million till 2020.

Moreover, in the healthcare sector 6 million jobs were accessible in 1960 which were dramatically decreased from 1960 to 1980 and reached to around 4 million and remained stable till 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student attempts to cover the main features of the line chart, providing an overview and mentioning data points for the four sectors. However, there are significant factual inaccuracies in the data reporting. For instance, the student states that 'retail, and agriculture jobs were 2 million and 6 million respectively' in 1960, whereas the chart shows agriculture at 6 million and retail at 6 million. Furthermore, the description of the healthcare sector completely misreads the graph, claiming that 6 million jobs in 1960 'dramatically decreased... and reached to around 4 million', when the chart clearly shows healthcare starting at 2 million in 1960 and rising to 16 million by 2020. Because of these inaccurate data readings and misinterpretations of trends, the response falls into the Band 5 descriptor for partially addressing the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organized into four paragraphs, including an introduction, an overview, and separate body paragraphs for the different sectors, which demonstrates an attempt at logical structure. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Overall', 'However', 'On the other hand', and 'Moreover'. However, some of these transitions are awkward or mechanically applied, and the referencing is sometimes unclear, such as the confusing grouping of retail and agriculture in the third paragraph ('On the other hand retail, and agriculture jobs were 2 million and 6 million respectively. This rapid jump was observed...'). Progression within paragraphs is occasionally muddled due to the data misinterpretations, leading to a coherent overall arrangement that suffers from faulty mechanics.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, attempting words and phrases such as 'job availability', 'employment opportunities', 'massive popularity', and 'remained stable'. However, there are notable lexical and collocational inaccuracies, such as 'jobs went down steadily till 2020 reaching around 13 million' and the misapplication of terms to the wrong data series. Attempts at less common vocabulary sometimes lead to awkward phrasing. While the vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey a basic summary, the frequent errors in data interpretation restrict the precision and flexibility of the lexical resource.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and passive constructions (e.g., 'over 15 million employment opportunities were observed in 1960'). There are, however, several grammatical errors and awkward structures, such as 'it was shown from the chart that jobs in the manufacturing sector were in the highest demand, whereas the fewest people were in agricultural work', and punctuation issues like missing commas (e.g., 'On the other hand retail...'). The errors in grammar and awkward phrasing do not completely impede communication, but they occur frequently enough to prevent the response from achieving a higher band.

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