Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 7.5 · 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 7.5)
The line graph illustrates how employment levels (in millions) evolved across four US economic sectors Manufacturing, Retail, Agriculture, and Healthcare — between 1960 and 2020.
Overall, the data reveals a structural economic shift: Manufacturing declined after peaking in 1980, while Healthcare and Retail grew steadily, with Agriculture remaining minimal and stable post-1980.
In 1960, Manufacturing employed 15 million workers the highest of all sectors rising to 20 million by 1980 before falling sharply to 13 million by 2020. Conversely, Healthcare started at only 2 million but surged dramatically after 1980, reaching 16 million an eightfold increase effectively matching Retail, which climbed consistently from 6 million to 16 million over the period. Agriculture, meanwhile, dropped from 6 million to 3 million by 1980 and then plateaued, showing no significant change thereafter.
This trend underscores a pronounced transition from industrial to service-oriented employment, accentuating the burgeoning dominance of Healthcare and Retail, just opposed with the contraction of traditional sectors.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 8.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 7.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 7.5 |
| Overall | 7.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5
The response fully satisfies all requirements of Task 1 by providing a clear and comprehensive overview of the main trends and features of the data. The student accurately reports the starting and ending points as well as key turning points, such as Manufacturing peaking at 20 million in 1980 and Healthcare rising dramatically to 16 million. Key comparisons between sectors—such as Healthcare matching Retail at the end of the period—are well-drawn and directly supported by the visual data. The overview effectively captures the broader economic transition without getting bogged down in unnecessary minor figures. This demonstrates a high level of skill in selecting and reporting salient information, fully aligning with Band 8 descriptors.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 8.0
The response is exceptionally well-structured and easy to follow. Ideas are logically sequenced, beginning with a clear introduction that paraphrases the prompt, followed by a succinct overview paragraph that highlights the primary structural shifts. Body paragraphs are logically organised, contrasting the declining and rising sectors effectively. Cohesive devices such as 'Conversely', 'meanwhile', and 'This trend underscores' are used naturally and with precision, contributing to a seamless flow of ideas. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the overview from the detailed body analysis, meeting all criteria for an advanced band.
Lexical Resource — Band 7.5
The student displays a wide, fluent, and flexible lexical resource appropriate for an academic report. Words and phrases such as 'structural economic shift', 'surged dramatically', 'eightfold increase', and 'pronouced transition' are used with a high degree of precision and natural collocation. There is skilful incorporation of less common vocabulary items like 'plateaued' and 'contraction' without awkwardness. Minor punctuation slips aside, the vocabulary choices are sophisticated and elevate the overall register of the task, meeting the high standards of Band 8.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.5
The response demonstrates a wide variety of complex sentence structures used with a high degree of accuracy. The writer successfully employs participial phrases ('rising to 20 million', 'reaching 16 million') and subordinate clauses to pack information densely and fluently. Punctuation is generally handled well, though there is a minor missing comma/conjunction issue around 'reaching 16 million an eightfold increase effectively matching Retail'. Nevertheless, the vast majority of sentences are completely error-free, and grammar does not impede communication at any point.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.