Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-26
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 information about the number of jobs in four different sectors US economy between 1960 and 2020.
Overall, manufacturing lead the highest number of jobs, figure declined after reaching at the peak. In contrast, retail and healthcare considerably growth over the period. Agriculture followed the opposite trend and saw continous dropped employement.
In 1950, manufacturing accounted the largest employer 15 million jobs, while the both retail and agriculture had a least ratio of jobs which is 6 million jobs. Healthcare had a fewest jobs, at only 2 million y 1980, manufacturing had increased significantly 1o million which is highest proportion showed in graph. Additionally, retail grew up to 10 million. Healthcare more than double to around 4.5 million. However, agriculture fell sharply to approximately 2.5 million jobs.
from 1980 onwards, manufacture gradually drop, falling from 20 million jobs to 17 million in 2000 ans
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.5 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The response makes a clear attempt to summarise the main features of the line graph, identifying general trends such as the peak and decline in manufacturing, the growth in retail and healthcare, and the downward trend in agriculture. An overview is provided in the second paragraph. However, there are several data inaccuracies and contradictions. For instance, the student states that manufacturing started in '1950' (the graph starts in 1960) and reports conflicting employment figures for 1980. Furthermore, the essay is incomplete, breaking off mid-sentence at 'ans', which results in a failure to cover the 2020 endpoint properly. Additionally, the word count is 148 words, narrowly failing the 150-word minimum requirement. These combined issues restrict the score.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5
The essay attempts a standard structure with an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs. However, logical organisation is severely disrupted by incomplete sentences and disjointed paragraphing. The response breaks off abruptly at the end of the text ('ans '), meaning that progression stalls completely. While some basic cohesive devices like 'In contrast' and 'Additionally' are used, referencing is occasionally unclear (e.g., 'while both retail and agriculture had a least ratio...'). Paragraphing is poorly executed, with the final unfinished thought left isolated. Overall, the structural flaws prevent the response from achieving a higher band.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, attempting appropriate topic-related terms such as 'manufacturing', 'retail', 'agriculture', and 'healthcare'. However, there are frequent word-choice errors, awkward collocations, and grammatical forms of words (e.g., 'manufacturing lead the highest number', 'considerably growth', 'continous dropped employement', 'fewest jobs'). Less common lexical items are attempted but are often inaccurate or unidiomatic. Spelling and morphological errors ('continous', 'employement') also occur, though they do not completely impede communication. A broader and more accurate control of vocabulary is required for higher bands.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5
The text contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but grammatical accuracy is weak throughout. There are numerous basic errors in tense, subject-verb agreement, and prepositions (e.g., 'manufacturing accounted the largest employer', 'manufacturing had increased significantly 1o million', 'Healthcare more than double'). Punctuation and sentence construction are faulty in places, and the response terminates abruptly with an incomplete fragment ('ans '). While some simple structures are understandable, frequent errors cause difficulty for the reader and prevent the response from reaching a higher band score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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