Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The diagram is referencing the interval of 1960 to 2020 to show the trend of number of jobs in four different economical sectors of the US.

The overall trend shows that number of jobs in the sector of manufacturing and healthcare have decreasing however retail and agriculture have shown a sharp increase in their job count.

The largest number of jobs,15 millions, in 1960 were of manufacturing which showed an increase to 20 millions till 1980 however it declined afterwards with 17-18 millions job in the 2020. Another sector which showed decline was of healthcare, starting with 6-7 million jobs in 1960 and only 1-2 milion jobs in the 2020.

The highest growth in the number of jobs have been seen in the agriculture sector which was only 1-2 million in the 1960 and with rapid growth it now has approximately 16 million jobs in the 2020. Similar trend has been shown by retail sector, starting with 6-7 million jobs in the 1960 followed by upward trend now shows 16-17 million jobs in the 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.5

The response attempts to cover all four sectors across the period from 1960 to 2020, but it suffers from severe data misinterpretations that contradict the visual evidence. For example, the student claims that manufacturing and healthcare have been decreasing while retail and agriculture have shown a sharp increase. In reality, healthcare experienced a massive increase (from 2 million to 16 million), whereas agriculture declined (from 6 million to 2 million). Furthermore, the specific figures cited contain multiple errors, such as stating that manufacturing was 17-18 million in 2020 (actual is around 13 million) and misattributing trends to the wrong categories entirely. This demonstrates a failure to accurately report the main features and trends of the graph, placing this performance below the Band 6 threshold.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is organized into a basic introductory sentence followed by body paragraphs, attempting to group information by sector trends. However, the logical progression is significantly hindered by the incorrect factual content and confused comparisons. Cohesive devices are used sparingly and sometimes awkwardly (e.g., 'however', 'starting with', 'similar trend has been shown by'). Paragraphing is present, but the body paragraphs are poorly structured, mixing contrasting trends together without clear signposting. Reference words are occasionally unclear due to the contradictory statements regarding which sector is being discussed. Overall, the organizational structure is flawed and impacts the readability of the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is relatively basic and repetitive, relying heavily on terms directly taken from the prompt such as 'jobs', 'sector', 'economy', 'US', 'trend', and 'increase' or 'decrease'. There are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'economical sectors' instead of 'economic sectors', and describing the diagram as 'referencing the interval'. Additionally, the misapplication of vocabulary to the wrong data trends (e.g., stating agriculture had rapid growth when it actually declined) limits the precision of the lexical resource. Spelling is generally acceptable, but the overall range and control are restricted.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar is weak, leading to frequent errors. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues like 'number of jobs in the sector of manufacturing and healthcare have decreasing' (instead of 'has decreased') and prepositional errors like 'jobs in the 2020'. There are also tense inconsistencies and awkward phrasings such as 'the largest number of jobs, 15 millions, in 1960 were of manufacturing'. These errors cause occasional difficulty for the reader and prevent the response from achieving a higher band score.

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

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