Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-24

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 line graph illustrates the numbers of employees in four sectors of the economy in the United States between 1960 and 2020.

Overall, the jobs of healthcare and retail increased, while in contrast the jobs of manufacturing and agriculture steadily decreased.

Focusing on the increases first, the number of retail jobs started at six million in 1960, the six decades it rose a signficant increase in number of jobs reaches sixteen million in 2020. Similarly, the jobs of Healthcare also grew dramatically from two million in 1960 to sixteen million in 2020.

By contrast, the numbers of jobs of Manufacturing and Agriculture decreased over the period of time. The jobs of Agriculture decreased continuously from approximately six million in 1960 to about three million in 2020. The number of jobs of Manufacturing increased steadily from fifteen million in 1960 to twenty million in 1980 and then it started decreasing continuously four decades reached 13 millions in 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The student covers all parts of the task well, providing an accurate overview of the trends and reporting key data figures correctly for all four sectors. For example, the overview correctly notes that healthcare and retail increased while manufacturing and agriculture decreased. Specific data points, such as retail and healthcare both starting at low points and reaching 16 million in 2020, are accurately cited from the visual data. The response selects and compares the main features effectively without getting bogged down in minor details, satisfying the requirements for Band 7.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a clear overall progression and is logically organised into an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs dedicated to upward and downward trends respectively. Cohesive devices are used to signal transitions, such as 'Overall', 'Focusing on the increases first', and 'By contrast'. However, some cohesive links and sentence structures within the body paragraphs are slightly awkward or mechanical, such as 'the six decades it rose a signficant increase', which holds the score at Band 6.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms like 'illustrates', 'steadily decreased', 'dramatically', and 'continuously'. However, there are notable lexical and spelling errors that affect precision, such as 'signficant' instead of 'significant', and awkward phrasing like 'the jobs of healthcare and retail increased' rather than 'employment in healthcare and retail'. Less common vocabulary is attempted but lacks full control, placing this performance firmly in Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as subordinate clauses ('while in contrast the jobs of manufacturing and agriculture steadily decreased'). However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several structural errors, run-on sentences, and missing prepositions, such as 'the six decades it rose a signficant increase in number of jobs reaches sixteen million', and 'four decades reached 13 millions'. These errors occasionally cause the reader to pause, though they do not completely impede communication.

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

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