Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The chart demonstrates information about the numbers of jobs in four sectors(manufacturing,retail,agriculture, and healthcare) of the economy in the United States between 1960 and 2020. Numbers are given in millions.

Overall, there was a significant rise in healthcare and retail jobs, while manufacturing jobs followed increasing trend initially then there was a dramatically decresed in jobs through the years and agriculture jobs fell in early years but later on remained same in the whole period.

In 1960, initally both healthcare and retail jobs strated from 6 millions jobs and then grew up, crossed the manufacturing job and both reached around 16 millions job at the end of the 2020.

Agriculture jobs are slightly goes downward initally from 6 millions to 2.5 millions but from 1980 to end of the period jobs will remained same for the whole years. In manufacturing jobs, starting from 15 millions jobs and grew up slightly to 20 millions jobs but after that the trend dropped significantly from 20 to 13 millions jobs at the end of the 2020 year.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The student successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main trends and making relevant comparisons across all four sectors between 1960 and 2020. An overview is provided in the second paragraph, highlighting the major overall movements. The data points cited are generally accurate and aligned with the provided visual reference, such as noting that manufacturing peaked around 1980 before declining, and that healthcare and retail rose significantly to reach around 16 million jobs by 2020. However, there are minor inaccuracies in data interpretation, such as stating that healthcare and retail started at 6 million in 1960 (healthcare actually started near 2 million). Despite these minor misreadings, the key features are well-selected and presented, fulfilling the requirements for Band 6.5 to 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is organized into logical paragraphs, beginning with an introduction, followed by an overview, and concluding with body paragraphs detailing the specific sectors. Cohesive devices are used to connect ideas, such as "Overall," "while," and "after that." However, referencing and progression are occasionally clunky or repetitive, as seen in phrases like "jobs will remained same for the whole years" and some awkward sentence sequencing. Paragraphing is present and appropriate for an academic report, giving the essay a clear, coherent overall arrangement. To achieve a higher band, the flow between sentences needs to be smoother, with more precise logical connectors and better control over referencing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating sector names and basic economic terms like "sector," "economy," "trend," and "millions." However, there are notable word-choice errors, incorrect forms, and spelling mistakes throughout the text, such as "decresed," "initally," "strated," and "millions job" instead of "million jobs." Less common vocabulary is attempted but often inaccurate or awkwardly collocated, such as "followed increasing trend initially then there was a dramatically decresed." The lexical range is sufficient to communicate the main points, but errors in word formation and spelling prevent it from reaching a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including comparative and temporal clauses ("while manufacturing jobs followed increasing trend initially then there was a dramatically decresed"). However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with verb tenses, subject-verb agreement, and prepositions, such as "Agriculture jobs are slightly goes downward" and "jobs will remained same." Punctuation and spacing issues are also present, such as missing spaces after commas ("sectors(manufacturing,retail,agriculture..."). While these errors do not completely obscure the meaning, their frequency prevents the majority of sentences from being error-free, placing this response firmly in the Band 5.5 category.

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