Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 the information about number of job opportunities in four domains for US economy from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, employment in Retail & Healthcare sectors increased significantly over a period and reached at same level, whereas Agriculture jobs declined steadily. In the Manufacturing sector employment growth had been experienced initially then followed a downtrend in later years. Retail & Healthcare both domains overtaken the Manufacturing sector. In the Manufacturing sector employment was 15 million in 1960, which was increased to 20 million by 2020. From 1980 to 2020 less employment had been observed which stood at 23 million recorded in 2020. Retail and Healthcare domains had observed rapid jump in employment from 6 million & 2 million to 16 million respectively between 1960 and 2020.

Moreover, employment in Agriculture sector stood at 6 million in 1960 followed by 3 million in 1980 and remained stable till 2000, after that it decreased to 2 million in 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student covers all parts of the task by reporting on the four sectors and making relevant comparisons between them. A clear overview is provided, noting the main trends such as the significant growth in the Retail and Healthcare sectors and the steady decline in Agriculture. Key data points are selected and reported, for instance noting that Agriculture stood at 6 million in 1960 and fell to 2. However, there are some data inaccuracies and confusion in the Manufacturing section, where the student claims employment increased to 20 million by 2020 and later mentions 23 million, whereas the graph actually shows a peak of 20 million in 1980 followed by a decline to 13 million in 2020. Despite these factual errors in reading the chart data, the overall progression is presented adequately. This places the response at band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is organized logically into an introduction, an overview paragraph, body details, and a concluding point about agriculture. Cohesive devices are used to connect ideas, such as 'Overall', 'whereas', 'initially then followed', and 'Moreover'. However, some of the referencing and transitions are slightly mechanical or awkward, such as 'Retail & Healthcare both domains overtaken the Manufacturing sector', which lacks grammatical linking. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to structure the information, separating the overview and general trends from specific sectoral figures. Overall, the arrangement is coherent, leading to a solid band 6.5 for coherence and cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, incorporating terms such as 'job opportunities', 'domains', 'employment growth', 'downtrend', and 'stable'. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, but these are sometimes accompanied by inaccuracies in word choice or collocation, such as 'reached at same level', 'employment growth had been experienced initially', and 'rapid jump'. Spelling is generally accurate, but some phrasing feels unnatural. The lexical resource is sufficient to convey the main message, corresponding to a band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including relative clauses and subordinate structures like 'while Agriculture jobs declined steadily' and 'which was increased to 20 million'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and awkward passive/active constructions, such as 'the given line chart illustrates the information about number', 'employment in the Manufacturing sector employment growth had been experienced', 'less employment had been observed which stood at 23 million recorded', and missing articles ('in US economy'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent the response from achieving a higher band, placing it firmly at band 5.5.

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