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 multiple line chart illustrates the data about the number of jobs in four sectors of economy in the United States from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, the manufacturing sector leads the jobs market over the period with highest figures recorded in 1980. Retail and Healthcare sectors also rose significantly over the period and became at highest by 2020. Beside major sectors, Agriculture sector decline dramatically and became the most lowest sector in jobs economy.

In 1960, Manufactoring area started grewing rapidly and the highest figures of this sector recorded in 1980 with around 20 Million jobs. Manufacturing sector remains almost stable over the period and provide around 12 Million jobs by 2020. The leading sectors by 2020 are the Retail and Healthcare with over 15 Million jobs. Retail and Healthcare market grew rapidly over the long period and became the highest jobs market by 2020.

The Agriculture market in 1960 provides almost 6 Million jobs to the economy of United States. Their numbers decline rapidly by 1980 and stays stable by 2000. After 2000, the market falls considerably by 2020 and provide almost 2 million jobs.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The student covers all parts of the task well, providing an overview and selecting the main trends across the four economic sectors. Key data points are correctly identified, such as manufacturing peaking in 1980 at around 20 million, and retail and healthcare rising to 16 million by 2020. However, there are some minor inaccuracies or generalizations in the reporting of figures, such as stating retail and healthcare 'became at highest by 2020' rather than equal top, and occasional approximations like 'around 12 Million jobs' for manufacturing in 2020 (which is closer to 13 million). Despite these minor flaws, the trends are clearly reported and well-supported, satisfying the Band 7 criteria.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, an overview paragraph, and distinct body paragraphs for different sectors. Cohesive devices are used to guide the reader through the data, such as 'Overall', 'In 1960', and 'After 2000'. However, paragraphing and referencing can be a bit mechanical at times, and phrases like 'Beside major sectors' or 'Their numbers decline' show minor cohesion faults. Progression is generally clear throughout, placing the response firmly at Band 6.0 moving toward 7.0, but capped by occasional awkward transitions.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms like 'fluctuates', 'decline dramatically', and 'stable'. However, there are numerous lexical and spelling errors throughout the text, such as 'Manufactoring', 'grewing', 'most lowest', and awkward phrasing like 'became the highest jobs market'. These errors do not prevent comprehension, but they highlight limitations in precision and word choice, which places the lexical resource score at Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response includes a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'The multiple line chart illustrates the data about...' and 'After 2000, the market falls considerably...'. There are several grammatical and tense inconsistencies, including subject-verb agreement errors ('the market falls', 'provide almost 2 million jobs' referring to past trends) and spelling/form errors in verbs ('grewing'). While complex structures are attempted, errors in tense consistency and verb forms persist, though they rarely impede overall communication. This performance aligns with Band 6.0 descriptors.

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