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, over six decades it rose a significant increase in number of jobs reaching 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 million in 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features and making relevant comparisons across the four economic sectors. An effective overview is provided, highlighting the divergent trends between rising sectors (healthcare and retail) and declining ones (manufacturing and agriculture). Key data points, such as starting and ending figures, are accurately cited from the visual data (e.g., retail starting at six million in 1960 and reaching sixteen million in 2020). The response is well-grounded in the factual reference, though there is a minor contradiction in the final sentence where the student writes 'The number of jobs of Manufacturing increased steadily... and then it started decreasing', which contains a slight slip in phrasing ('increased' instead of 'decreased' initially for that phase), but the overarching trends are still clearly reported. Overall, the task is covered thoroughly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response exhibits a clear overall progression and logical organisation. Information is grouped appropriately, with the introduction followed by an overview paragraph, then a paragraph focusing on the growing sectors, and a final paragraph detailing the declining sectors. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as 'Overall', 'Focusing on the increases first', 'Similarly', and 'By contrast'. However, some cohesive transitions and sentence constructions feel slightly mechanical or repetitive, such as 'The jobs of... The jobs of...'. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately to separate distinct ideas, ensuring the text is easy to follow from start to finish.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms related to economic data and trends such as 'illustrates', 'employees', 'sectors', 'increased', 'decreased', and 'dramatically'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with some success, though there are occasional awkward collocations and word choices, such as 'rose a significant increase in number of jobs' instead of 'experienced a significant increase'. Spelling and word choice errors are minimal and do not impede communication, allowing the reader to easily grasp the statistical trends presented in the graph.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, using subordinating clauses and time markers effectively (e.g., 'while in contrast the jobs of manufacturing and agriculture steadily decreased' and 'over six decades it rose... reaching sixteen million in 2020'). There are some noticeable grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, such as 'the jobs of healthcare' used repeatedly instead of 'healthcare jobs', and a tense/contradiction slip in the final sentence ('The number of jobs of Manufacturing increased steadily... and then it started decreasing'). Despite these errors, punctuation is generally sound, and the majority of sentences are clear and comprehensible.

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