Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The line graph illustrates the number of employees in four different sectors in the United States between 1960 and 2020.

Overall, the number of jobs in Manufacturing and Healthcare rose, while the number of jobs in Retail and Agriculture declined.

In contrast, the number of jobs in Healthcare increased steadily from three million in 1960 to approximately sixteen million over six decades. The number of jobs in Retail grew gradually from six million in 1960 to 16 million in 2020 through six decades.

In contrast, the number of jobs in Manufacturing was fifteen million in 1960 and climbed dramatically to 20 million, and declined steadily over four decades to 13 million in 2020. The number of jobs in Agriculture declined slowly from six million in 1960 to 3 million over the six decades.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response satisfies the length requirement, as the word count falls just short of the 150-word minimum at 133 words, which attracts a penalty under Task Achievement. On the content side, the student provides a clear overview and correctly identifies the main trends, noting that Manufacturing and Healthcare rose overall while Retail and Agriculture declined. Key data points are generally accurate, such as Healthcare starting at two million in 1960 and reaching sixteen million, although there is a slight inaccuracy in the text stating Healthcare started at 'three million'. The selection of features is good, but the under-length nature of the response prevents a higher score.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response is arranged coherently with a logical overall progression. Ideas are grouped into clear sentences and paragraphs, starting with an introduction and overview followed by body details. However, the cohesive devices are repetitive and sometimes clumsily used, notably the repeated mechanical use of 'In contrast' at the beginning of consecutive paragraphs ('In contrast, the number of jobs in Healthcare...', 'In contrast, the number of jobs in Manufacturing...'). Paragraphing is also somewhat fragmented, with several very short sentences that could be better linked to improve flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, with appropriate topic-specific terminology like 'employees', 'sectors', and 'economy'. The student attempts some less common phrasing ('climbed dramatically', 'declined steadily'), but overall the range is somewhat limited and repetitive. There are also slight lexical inaccuracies, such as using 'employees' in the introduction when the graph measures 'jobs'. However, word choice does not impede communication, and spelling is accurate throughout.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative or coordinate clauses successfully (e.g., 'The line graph illustrates the number of employees in four different sectors in the United States between 1960 and 2020'). There are several error-free sentences, and grammar and punctuation are generally well-controlled. Errors are infrequent and do not impede communication, though the sentence structures tend to follow a repetitive formula ('The number of jobs in...').

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