Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

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 had the highest number of jobs in the beginning, but its job figures decreased after 1980.

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

In contrast, Manufacturing had 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 also showed downward trend and ended the period with the lowest number of jobs among the four sectors.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student addresses all parts of the task by selecting and reporting the main features of the four economic sectors between 1960 and 2020. An overview is successfully provided, capturing the upward trends in healthcare and retail, and the downward trend in agriculture. Key data points are cited, such as healthcare starting at approximately 2-3 million and manufacturing falling by around 6 million jobs. However, there is a minor typo with a repeated year ("2020.2020.") and the word count falls slightly short of the 150-word minimum at 147 words, resulting in a minor penalty for length. Despite this, the key trends and comparisons are accurately reported. Band score: 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement and logical progression. Information is grouped into sensible paragraphs: an introduction, an overview, and separate body paragraphs focusing on the rising and falling sectors respectively. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'In 1960', 'In the same way', and 'In contrast' are used to connect ideas, although referencing and linking can occasionally feel slightly mechanical. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different groups of data. Band score: 6.5.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully employing terms like 'upward trend', 'downward trend', 'economic sectors', and 'figure'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with reasonable success, such as 'continuously' (misspelled as 'continous'). While there are a few minor lexical and spelling inaccuracies, such as 'least number of jobs' instead of 'lowest number of jobs' and 'continous', communication is not impeded. Band score: 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as past tense narratives ("healthcare had the least number of jobs") and comparative clauses. There are some minor grammatical errors, such as missing articles or awkward phrasing in places (e.g., 'least number of jobs' instead of 'fewest'), and a repetition error ('2020.2020.'). However, these errors are relatively infrequent and do not impede communication. Complex sentences are generally controlled, though range remains somewhat standard. Band score: 6.5.

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