Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-22

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 the number of jobs in four sectors of the economy in the US over the period from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, employment in healthcare and retail experienced an upward trend, while agriculture decreased over the period. Manufacturing has the highest number of jobs in the beginning, but its job figures decreased after 1980.

In 1960, healthcare had least number of jobs, at approximately 2-3 million. The jobs rose to 5 million by the year 1980 and continued to increase until 2020.In the same way, the retail sector showed continous upward trend throught the period.

In contrast, Manufacturing has the highest number of jobs in the beginning. However, it started decreasing after 1980, falling by approximately 6 million jobs by the end of 2020.Agriculture a

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student covers all four sectors and provides an overview identifying overall trends, such as healthcare and retail experiencing an upward trend while agriculture decreased. Key features are reported, including manufacturing having the highest number of jobs initially before declining after 1980. However, the response is cut off abruptly at the end ("Agriculture a"), and the word count is 127 words, which fails to meet the 150-word minimum requirement. This under-length impacts the overall development of the task. Due to the incomplete ending and the penalty for not reaching the minimum length, a band score of 5.5 is awarded.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is structured with an introduction, an overview paragraph, and body paragraphs discussing the specific trends. Cohesive devices are used to signal contrast and sequence, such as "Overall", "In 1960", and "In contrast". However, paragraphing is somewhat fragmented, and the abrupt cut-off at the end disrupts the overall coherence and logical progression of the writing. Referencing and linking are generally clear where sentences are completed, but the lack of a proper concluding sentence or fully developed final body paragraph limits the score. Therefore, a band score of 6.0 is appropriate.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, including terms like "employment", "upward trend", "sector", and "figures". There are some minor lexical and grammatical inaccuracies, such as "least number of jobs" (instead of 'the lowest number') and "continous upward trend throught the period" (which contains spelling errors). Less common vocabulary is attempted with limited success. While communication is not severely hindered, the vocabulary range remains somewhat restricted and repetitive. This aligns well with the descriptors for Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as "The graph illustrates the number of jobs..." and "Manufacturing has the highest number of jobs in the beginning, but its job figures decreased after 1980." There are some tense inconsistencies, switching between present and past tenses (e.g., "Manufacturing has" instead of 'had'). Punctuation has occasional issues, such as missing a space after a full stop ("2020.In the same way"). Although some structures are controlled, errors in grammar and the incomplete sentence at the conclusion prevent a higher score. A band score of 6.0 is awarded.

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