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 graph illustrates information about four sectors of the United States economy and the number of jobs across these sectors, i.e., manufacturing, retail, agriculture and healthcare.

Overall, the retail and agriculture sectors showed substantial growth. The manufacturing industry experienced a downward trend across all groups.

Firstly, the retail and agriculture sectors had considerable growth between 1960 and 2020; they were also the two top sectors with the most jobs. In addition, the job market in retail started at nearly 6 million vacancies, and the agriculture sector was able to offer around 3 million jobs in 1960. Later, in 2020, both industries were able to provide 15 million jobs and stood at the same level.

Furthermore, the manufacturing sector steadily grew, providing 15 to 20 million people with employment opportunities in the first 20 years, between 1960 and 1980. Eventually, started to decline, stopping at 13 million jobs approximately in 2020. Making it the third industry with a wide job market.

Finally, a different trend can be seen across the healthcare sector. It was the only one with a continuous decreasing trend in its employment division. Starting from around 6 million jobs, to a dip to 2 million jobs in 1960 and 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student attempts to cover all parts of the task by reporting information for the four sectors between 1960 and 2020. However, there are significant factual inaccuracies in the data reporting. For instance, the student states that 'the retail and agriculture sectors showed substantial growth' and that 'both industries were able to provide 15 million jobs and stood at the same level' in 2020, whereas agriculture actually declined significantly to around 2 million. Furthermore, the manufacturing trend is misdescribed as starting with steady growth and then declining, but the description of the healthcare sector completely reverses the actual data, claiming it had a 'continuous decreasing trend' starting from 6 million and dipping to 2 million, when healthcare actually experienced massive growth from 2 million to 16 million. These misreadings mean the task is only partially addressed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response has an overall organisation with a clear introduction and separate body paragraphs for different sectors. However, paragraphing and logical progression are undermined by severe contradictions in the data. Cohesive devices are used, but sometimes inaccurately or mechanically (e.g., 'Firstly', 'Furthermore', 'Finally'). Reference pronouns and linking words occasionally fail to guide the reader correctly because the underlying content is factually confused. For example, the use of transitions between paragraphs does not compensate for the lack of clear, logical data progression regarding trends.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student attempts to use a range of vocabulary suitable for task 1, such as 'substantial growth', 'downward trend', 'employment opportunities', and 'vacancies'. However, there are notable lexical inaccuracies and awkward word choices that stem from misinterpreting the chart, such as referring to jobs as 'vacancies' and misapplying terms of direction. While an adequate range is attempted for the task, the frequent lexical errors linked to data misinterpretation limit the score to a 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as participial phrases ('Making it the third industry...') and relative clauses. There are several grammatical errors and awkward fragments, including sentence fragments ('Eventually, started to decline...') and incorrect prepositional use ('a dip to 2 million jobs in 1960 and 2020'). Despite these errors, meaning is generally discernible, and control of basic structures is evident, supporting a solid band 6.0.

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

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