Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · 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 4.0)

The line chart compares the data of jobs in millions in four economy sectors in US from 1960 to 2020.

At a glance, Manufacturing industry remained top notched,while agricultures sufered most in the matter of jobs distribution.

Start with, job vacancies at manufaturing department stood at the highest with 20 million jobs in 1980 as high from 1960 (15 million) followed by retail which was approximatly 6 to 15 million between 1960 to 2000.After 1980, manufacturing saw a slight fall to nearly 12 million.

Moving to rest details, Although agriculture sector was at the bottom d

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response is severely under-length, containing only 96 words against the required 1,500-word minimum (at least 150 words). Furthermore, the text cuts off mid-sentence at the end. While the student attempts to identify a few main features, such as mentioning that manufacturing and retail started at certain levels, the overview is extremely basic and the data reporting is incomplete and imprecise. Key trends across the 60-year period are not adequately covered, and the response is abruptly truncated. This falls short of the requirements for Task Achievement, leading to a low band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0

The response attempts to use basic introductory elements like "At a glance" and "Moving to rest details", but the paragraphing and structure are heavily disrupted by the abrupt ending of the text. Sentences are disjointed, and transitions like "Start with" are unnatural and ungrammatical. The lack of a completed essay structure prevents any clear logical progression or cohesive flow from being established throughout the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 4.5

The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive. There are noticeable spelling errors, such as "top notched", "agricultures", "sufered", "manufaturing", and "approximatly". While the student attempts some topic-related vocabulary like "economy sectors", "job vacancies", and "distribution", the limited range and frequent lexical and spelling errors significantly impede communication and lower the lexical profile of the response.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0

The grammatical structures attempted are largely simple or faulty. Examples like "Start with, job vacancies at manufaturing department stood..." and "as high from 1960" demonstrate poor control over basic syntax and prepositions. Punctuation and word formation are weak, and because the text cuts off mid-sentence ("Although agriculture sector was at the bottom d"), it fails to demonstrate a reliable command of complex sentence forms.

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

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