Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-23

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 line graph illustrate the data about number of jobs in US for four specific sectors including manufacturing, retail, agriculture and healthcare from 1960 to 2020

Overall,retail and healthcare provided heighest number of jobs at the end of the period. However, till end agriculture was outraced by all other departments. At start of this period manufacturing had provided abundunt of jobs but show a down trend by steadily decreasing its contribution.

Manufacturing industry in 1960 was providing about 15 million jobs. Then this trend increase to 20 million in the year 1980.Afterward number of recreutements in this sector keep decreasing and reach to approximately less than 13 million.

Retail market and agriculture at the start of 1960 offering same number of jobs to the public which is about 6 million. Next, agriculture sector demonstrate decreasing trend till 1980 by reaching to almost quarter million jobs. On the other hand, retailing sector show a firm growth and was offering almost 11 million jobs by reaching the year 2020.

The start of healthcare department was quite weak despite this, it continue to thrive and given the jobs to approximately 11 million populace by the year 2020

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student successfully covers all four sectors shown in the line graph and provides a general overview identifying the main trends at the end of the period. Key features, such as the rise of healthcare and retail alongside the decline of agriculture and the fluctuation of manufacturing, are reported. However, some data points are inaccurate or poorly expressed; for instance, the student states that agriculture reached 'almost quarter million jobs' instead of 2 million, and misinterprets the 2020 retail figure (16 million) as 11 million. Despite these data inaccuracies, the response addresses the prompt adequately, earning a Band 5.5.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The report has a basic structural organization with an introductory paragraph, an overview, and separate body paragraphs for the different economic sectors. However, paragraphing is somewhat disjointed, and the progression of ideas is occasionally hindered by abrupt transitions and mechanical cohesive devices ('Then this trend increase', 'Next, agriculture sector'). Referencing and pronouns lack precision in places, leading to mild confusion. Overall cohesion is adequate for a Band 5.5.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is relatively basic and repetitive ('provide', 'jobs', 'sector', 'trend'). There are several noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'heighest' (highest), 'outraced' (surpassed), 'recreutements' (recruitments), and 'populace' (population). These lexical limitations and spelling errors cause some distraction for the reader, fitting the Band 5.0 descriptor well.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but many sentences contain frequent grammatical errors. Examples include missing articles ('The line graph illustrate'), subject-verb agreement issues ('retail and healthcare provided heighest number', 'manufacturing... show a down trend'), and incorrect verb tenses or forms ('continue to thrive and given the jobs'). These errors cause difficulty for the reader at times, supporting a Band 5.0 score.

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