Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The line graph details employment changes across four keys US economic sectors over a six decade timeframe spanning 1960 to 2020.

Overall, the data reflects a structural transformation in the American labour force, characterized by a substantial expansion in service oriented industries alongside a pronounced contraction in industrial and agricultural employment. By 2020, healthcare and retail had overtaken manufacturing as the primary sources of employment.

In 1960, manufacturing was the predominant sector, providing 15 million jobs. Despite peaking at 20 million in 1980, it entered a gradual decline over the remaining four decades, falling to 17 million in 2000 and finishing at 13 million in 2020. Agriculture similarly dwindled, after dropping from 6 million in 1960 to 3 million in 1980, it remained stagnant before reaching a nadir of 2 million by the end of the period.

Conversely, healthcare, and retail are going upward in every year. Healthcare is started 6 million in 1960 and 2020 had 16 million, and retail is also increases every year 1960 had 6 million and 10 million in 1980, and 2020 was 16 million.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The student provides a strong overview of the main trends, noting the structural shift from manufacturing and agriculture toward healthcare and retail. Key data points are correctly cited, such as manufacturing peaking at 20 million in 1980 and declining to 13 million by 2020. However, there are minor factual slips in the final paragraph regarding initial starting values for healthcare, where the student claims healthcare 'started 6 million in 1960' when the visual data indicates it was around 2 million. Despite this minor misread of the starting figure, all parts of the task are well covered with relevant comparisons made throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is logically organised into clear paragraphs, beginning with an introduction, followed by a well-crafted overview paragraph, and concluding with body paragraphs detailing the specific economic sectors. Cohesive devices are used effectively, such as 'Overall', 'Conversely', and 'Similarly', which help guide the reader through the data. Referencing is generally clear, though paragraph four suffers from some clunky transitions and mechanical phrasing ('healthcare, and retail are going upward in every year'). Overall progression is maintained, but paragraph four prevents a higher band score due to awkward phrasing and slightly disjointed flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary with attempts at less common and topic-specific items, such as 'structural transformation', 'expansion', 'contraction', 'predominant sector', and 'nadir'. While there are good lexical choices in the first three paragraphs, the final paragraph exhibits noticeable awkwardness and lexical errors, such as 'Healthcare is started 6 million' and 'retail is also increases every year'. These vocabulary and collocation errors occasionally detract from the precision expected at higher bands, but the overall range remains adequate for the task.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures with varying degrees of success. The first three paragraphs feature well-controlled complex sentences, such as 'Despite peaking at 20 million in 1980, it entered a gradual decline...' and 'after dropping from 6 million in 1960 to 3 million in 1980, it remained stagnant...'. However, grammatical control breaks down significantly in the final paragraph, containing tense and structural errors like 'healthcare, and retail are going upward' and 'Healthcare is started 6 million in 1960 and 2020 had 16 million'. These errors impact the overall accuracy, placing the response firmly in the band 6 category.

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

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