Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-25

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 chart illustrates the proportions of millions of jobs in four different sectors such as manufacturing, retail, agriculture and healthcare of the economy in the US between 1960 and 2020

Overall, the chart represented the fluctuation in the manufacturing sector; however, it reached a peak in 1980 with 20 million of jobs on hand at that time but after some decades it was plummeted to just 13 million in 2020.

On the other hand, the agriculture sector jobs were on a peak in 1960 and then started falling gradually with every passing year and at the end hit a low of almost 2 millions of jobs available in 2020.

In 1960 the retail and healthcare sections were on the lowest point of available jobs nevertheless started rising steadily in the next 40 years. One of the significant factors in 2020 the both fields hit the same figures of 16 million that were obtainable

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student attempts to cover the main trends in the chart, noting the fluctuation in manufacturing, the decline in agriculture, and the upward trends in retail and healthcare. However, the overview is weak; the second sentence of the introduction attempts an overview, but it focuses on only one sector (manufacturing) rather than summarising overall trends across all four sectors. Furthermore, there are some inaccuracies in reporting the data: the student states that the agriculture sector jobs were 'on a peak in 1960', but the data shows agriculture starting at 6 million, which is equal to retail in 1960 and far below manufacturing's 15 million. Additionally, phrasing like 'proportions of millions of jobs' is imprecise. Despite these shortcomings, the response addresses all parts of the prompt and identifies key comparative data by the end of the period, fitting the Band 5.5 to 6.0 descriptor range.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response is organized into an introduction followed by three body paragraphs, attempting to group information logically by sector. However, the cohesion within and between sentences is frequently faulty or mechanical. For instance, the transition 'On the other hand' is used inappropriately when introducing agriculture, as it does not present a contrasting idea to the previous point about manufacturing. Furthermore, referencing and punctuation are weak; the text lacks commas to separate clauses, leading to run-on structures like 'in 1960 the retail and healthcare sections were on the lowest point of available jobs nevertheless started rising steadily'. Paragraphing is present, but the overall progression feels disjointed due to poor linking devices, warranting a Band 5.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range to accomplish the task, using terms such as 'fluctuation', 'plummeted', 'gradually', and 'steadily'. However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and awkward phrasing throughout, such as 'proportions of millions of jobs', 'jobs on hand', and 'sections were on the lowest point'. The phrase 'obtainable' is also misused in this context to describe available jobs in 2020. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the general message, these persistent lexical infelicities restrict the score to Band 5.5, reflecting a limited but minimally adequate range for task 1.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but attempts at complex sentences are frequently faulty. For example, sentences lack necessary punctuation, resulting in run-on structures, such as 'it reached a peak in 1980 with 20 million of jobs on hand at that time but after some decades it was plummeted'. There are also grammatical errors in prepositions and passive voice usage, such as 'it was plummeted' (incorrect passive for an intransitive verb) and 'millions of jobs' rather than 'million jobs'. While communication is not entirely impeded, the high frequency of grammatical slips places this response firmly at Band 5.0.

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

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