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 chart illustrates the amount of jobs (in millions) across four sectors of the US economy between the years 1960 and 2020 inclusive.

Overall, the manufacting sector had a small change in the amount of jobs between 1960 and 2020, whereas the healthcare sector had the highest positive increase. Both the manufacturing and agricultural sectors end with a lesser amount of jobs by the end of the study, while the retail and healthcare sectors had a massive increase.

It can be seen that the the manufacturing sector had dominated for most of the years in the number of jobs. However after its peak in the year 1980 with 20 million jobs, the number began until 2020. Agriculture had it's highest number of about 6 million jobs in the year 1960, followed by a decrease in jobs continuing to 2020.

Both the retail and healthcare industry shared their highest number of jobs of around 16 million, both in the year of 2020. These two sectors had a similar positive trend throughout the 40 years. The healthcare sector had the greatest increase in jobs, with a 13 million job increase between 1960 and 2020. On the other hand, the manufacturing sector had a very minimal change, with a negative difference of around 2.5 millions jobs.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The student covers all parts of the prompt well, successfully reporting the main features, trends, and comparisons across the four sectors. An appropriate overview is provided in the second paragraph, capturing the overall trajectories (e.g., manufacturing seeing minimal change, healthcare showing the greatest increase). Key data points, such as manufacturing peaking at 20 million in 1980 and healthcare and retail reaching around 16 million in 2020, are accurately cited. However, there is a minor omission in the third paragraph where the sentence describing manufacturing's trend is incomplete ('the number began until 2020'). Despite this minor slip, the task is addressed thoroughly and accurately, aligning well with the Band 7 requirements.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response is logically organized with a clear overall progression. It begins with an introductory statement, followed by an overview paragraph, and then detailed body paragraphs examining specific trends and comparisons. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'However', and 'On the other hand' are used effectively to guide the reader through the data. Paragraphing is used appropriately, with each paragraph serving a distinct function. Referencing is generally clear, though occasional slight awkwardness in phrasing prevents it from reaching a higher band. Overall, the logical structure and flow meet the expectations for a Band 7 score.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses a sufficient range of vocabulary appropriate for an Academic Task 1 response, including terms like 'illustrates', 'trajectory', 'sector', 'peak', and 'minimal change'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with some success, such as 'massive increase' and 'positive trend'. There are a few spelling and word-choice errors, notably 'manufacting' instead of 'manufacturing' and 'the the' repetition. Additionally, the phrase 'amount of jobs' is used repeatedly where 'number of jobs' is more precise for countable nouns. These minor inaccuracies do not impede communication, placing the response solidly at Band 6.5, rounded to 6.0 based on lexical control descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating subordinate clauses and comparative forms effectively (e.g., 'whereas the healthcare sector had the highest positive increase', 'Both the manufacturing and agricultural sectors end with a lesser amount...'). There are some grammatical errors, most notably the incomplete sentence fragment 'the number began until 2020' in the third paragraph, and an unnecessary apostrophe in 'Agriculture had it's highest number'. Punctuation and sentence construction are generally sound, and errors do not impede communication, supporting a Band 6 rating.

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