Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-20

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 number ofjobs in four sectors of the economy in the us between 1960 and 2020.

overall, Healthcare and Agriculture has seen a dramatic rise .Where as manufacturing has millions of jobs but it has seen an significant drop, following this agriculture statistics also fallen down.

Healthcare jobs production has never fallen down over the years. In the year 1990 it has produced 5million jobs, nearly 11 million jobs in 2000 and in the year 2020 it has generated 16 million jobs approximately.Retail statistics are also in the same way it has produced 10 million jobs in 1980, 15 million jobs in 2000 and around 16 million jobs in 2020.Both had created the highest number of jobs in the 2020 annum.

In contrast Manufacturing having the most number of jobs in the years 1960,1980 had seen an drop in the job making in 2000,2020.It fell down to nearly 17 million jobs in 2000,around 13 million in 2020.Agriculture has created less jobs in the years 1980,2000,2020 which are 3million in both the decades and it fell down to 2 million in 2020

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all four sectors (Manufacturing, Retail, Agriculture, and Healthcare) and reports key trends across the period from 1960 to 2020. An overall trend is provided at the beginning, noting the dramatic rise in healthcare and agriculture (though agriculture actually fell, which is a minor factual inaccuracy in the overview). Main features and comparisons are successfully made, such as highlighting that manufacturing had the most jobs in 1960 and 1980 before declining, while retail and healthcare grew significantly to become the highest by 2020. There are some minor data inaccuracies (e.g., stating healthcare was 5 million in 1990 when the chart shows 1980/2000 data, and mentioning agriculture was 3 million in 'both the decades' when referring to multiple years), but the main data points are generally captured. This corresponds to a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is arranged into identifiable paragraphs, beginning with an introduction and overview, followed by body paragraphs detailing the specific sectors. However, logical progression and cohesion are occasionally faulty or mechanical. Sentences are sometimes abruptly linked or lack smooth transitions (e.g., 'Retail statistics are also in the same way'). Paragraphing is present, but the overall internal organization of the body paragraphs lacks a fully cohesive flow, with ideas jumping between sectors. Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as 'Both had created the highest number of jobs in the 2020 annum.' This performance aligns with a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items such as 'dramatic rise', 'significant drop', and 'generated'. However, there are numerous lexical and collocational inaccuracies, such as 'jobs production', 'jobs making', 'annum', and awkward phrasing like 'Retail statistics are also in the same way'. Spelling errors and incorrect word choices are present throughout ('Where as' instead of 'Whereas', 'fallen down' repeatedly, 'less jobs' instead of 'fewer jobs'). These do not severely impede communication but prevent the score from reaching a higher band. This sits comfortably at a Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are frequent grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('Healthcare and Agriculture has seen', 'Manufacturing having the most number'), missing articles, run-on sentences, and poor punctuation (spacing errors, missing commas, and comma splices like '2000,2020.It fell down'). Complex structures are often faulty. While communication is generally maintained, the high frequency of basic and complex grammatical errors places this at a Band 5.0.

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