Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)
The line graph illustrates the number of jobs across four different sectors in the United States throughout the period from 1960 to 2020. The data is calibrated in millions.
Overall, manufacturing was the significant creator of jobs in the beginning year followed by substantial fall in latter years. While was the least in offering jobs. Whereas retail and agriculture both experience overall growth.
It is vividly seen, manufacturing experience a surged in number of jobs by 1980 reaching at 20 million and then falls to around 13 million by 2020. Whereas retail sector witness overall increase from 6 million in 1960 to around 16 million by 2020.
Moving ahead, agriculture sector was responsible for the fewer jobs in the starting years with 2.5 millions but its graph rose sharply reaching at around 15 millions by 2020. Moreover healthcare care sector declined steadily throughout the period around 6 millions in 1960 ended up at 2.5 millions by 2020.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.5 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5
The student attempts to cover all sectors of the economy but makes fundamental errors regarding the data, directly contradicting the visual information. For example, the student states that the agriculture sector 'rose sharply reaching at around 15 millions by 2020', whereas the graph clearly shows agriculture declining to around 2 million. Similarly, healthcare is described as having 'declined steadily' to 2.5 million, when in reality it surged from 2 million in 1960 to 16 million in 2020. The overview contains broken sentences and confusing statements, such as 'While was the least in offering jobs', failing to provide a clear summary of the main trends. Consequently, the task is only partially addressed due to significant data misinterpretations.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The response is divided into four paragraphs, which shows an attempt at structure, but the logical progression and cohesion are severely compromised by poor sentence construction and inaccurate linking devices. Phrases like 'Moving ahead' are used awkwardly to transition between body paragraphs. In addition, the pronoun referencing is often broken, leaving subjects missing or unclear, such as 'While was the least in offering jobs'. Paragraphing is present, but internal cohesion suffers from frequent mechanical errors and disjointed thoughts, making the overall argument difficult to follow.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The student demonstrates a basic vocabulary range related to trends, such as 'fluctuates', 'rise', and 'decline', but control is weak. There are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'significant creator of jobs in the beginning year', 'a surged' (instead of a surge), and 'healthcare care sector'. Furthermore, confusion over economic sectors leads to inaccurate vocabulary application. The range of vocabulary is limited and repetitive, with frequent errors in word formation and spelling that occasionally impede the reader's understanding.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control is weak, resulting in frequent grammatical errors. Examples of severe inaccuracies include 'While was the least in offering jobs', 'manufacturing experience a surged', and 'around 6 millions in 1960 ended up at 2.5 millions'. Verb tense consistency and subject-verb agreement are frequently violated (e.g., 'manufacturing experience' instead of 'experienced'). Punctuation and sentence boundaries are also poorly managed, leading to fragmented or run-on expressions that place a heavy burden on the reader.
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.