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 jobs in Agriculture 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 stood at 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 employment inclined rapidly 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 slightly to 2 million in 2020.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers all parts of the task well, providing an overview of the main trends and selecting key features for comparison. The student correctly identifies the growth in Retail and Healthcare, the steady decline in Agriculture, and the fluctuating trend in Manufacturing. However, there is a notable factual error in the body paragraph discussing Manufacturing: the student states that employment in Manufacturing 'was stood at 15 million in 1960, which was increased to 20 million by 2020,' which contradicts both the graph (where it fell to 13 million in 2020) and a later sentence in the same paragraph ('which stood at 23 million recorded in 2020'). Despite these data contradictions and slight inaccuracies, the main trends are reported, earning a solid Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The response is arranged coherently with a clear overall progression. An introductory paragraph is followed by an overview, body paragraphs addressing specific sectors, and a concluding sectoral detail. Paragraphing is used appropriately to group related ideas. Cohesive devices are employed, such as 'Overall,' 'whereas,' and 'Moreover,' though referencing and transitions can occasionally feel mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'Retail & Healthcare both domains overtaken the Manufacturing sector.' Overall, the logical structure is clear enough to earn a Band 6.5.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms such as 'illustrates,' 'significantly,' 'downtrend,' and 'stable.' However, there are noticeable lexical and collocational inaccuracies throughout the text, including 'reached at same level,' 'employment growth had been experienced initially,' and 'domains overtaken the Manufacturing sector.' Word formation and preposition use occasionally falter, but the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning, placing it firmly at Band 6.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures with varying degrees of success. There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, such as passive voice misuse ('employment had been experienced initially'), missing articles or prepositions ('in four domains for US economy'), and subject-verb agreement issues ('employment was stood at'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent the response from reaching Band 6.5. Control of grammar is characteristic of Band 6.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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