Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)
The line graph shows the number of jobs in four sectors of the US economy, namely manufacturing, retail, agriculture and healthcare, between 1960 and 2020. The figures are given in millions of jobs.
Overall, manufacturing had the highest number of jobs at the beginning, but it decreased after 1980. In constrast. retail and healthcare increased during the period. Agriculture showed a general decline and had the lowest figure at the end.
In 1960, manufacturing had about 15 million jobs, which was the highest figure. This number rose to 30 million in 1980. However, it then fell to around 17 million in 2000 and 13 million in 2020. Retail started at about 6 million jobs in 1960 and increased steadily to 10 million in 1980 and 15 million in 2000. Finally, it reached approximately 16 million in 2020.
Healthcare also experencied a significant increase. It rose from roughly 2 million jobs in 1960 to 5 million in 1980, before reaching 11 million in 2000 and 15 million in 2020. Agriculture followed the opposite trend. Its employment fell from about 5 million in 1960 to 3 million in 1980 and remained at around 3 million in 2000, before decreasing to 2 million in 2020.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 7.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5
The response effectively covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features and trends of the four sectors across the 60-year period. An appropriate overview is provided in the second paragraph, capturing the overall shifts such as the decline in manufacturing and agriculture alongside the growth in retail and healthcare. Key data points are selected and reported accurately with only one notable exception: the student states that manufacturing rose to "30 million in 1980", whereas the chart clearly shows a peak of around 20 million. Despite this factual error in data transcription, the response successfully fulfills the core requirements of Academic Task 1.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0
The text is logically organised with a clear four-paragraph structure that separates the introduction, overview, and body paragraphs effectively. Information progresses logically, moving from broad trends to specific sector details. Cohesive devices are used adequately to connect ideas, such as "Overall", "In constrast", "However", and "Finally". Paragraphing is handled appropriately, and referencing is generally clear throughout the response, ensuring that the reader can easily follow the comparisons being made between the different economic sectors.
Lexical Resource: Band 6.0
The student demonstrates an adequate and generally appropriate range of vocabulary for this task, successfully incorporating terms related to economic sectors and data trends like "sector", "decline", "rose", and "fluctuated". However, there is a minor typo ("constrast" instead of "contrast") and a spelling error in a less common item ("experencied" instead of "experienced"). Despite these occasional slips and some reliance on standard vocabulary, the lexical resource is sufficient to convey the intended meaning with reasonable precision and clarity.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 7.0
The response exhibits a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures, utilising relative clauses ("which was the highest figure") and subordinate time clauses effectively. Grammatical control is generally sound, with many error-free sentences describing the historical data. Punctuation is mostly accurate, though there is a minor punctuation slip in the second paragraph where a full stop is used instead of a comma before "retail" ("In constrast. retail..."). Overall, the grammatical errors are infrequent and do not impede communication.
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