Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-27

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 information about the employment rate in four different sectors, namely manufacturing, farming, retail and healthcare in US, from 1996 to 2020.

Overall, it is evident that manufacturing accounted for the highest number of jobs, showing a decline at the end, whereas agriculture showed the least figures over the period.

After analysing the line graph, it could be noticed that there were about 15 million jobs in the manufacturing sector initially. However, healthcare accounted for approximately 3 milloin, showing a peak in 2020.

During this 60-year-period, retail sector showed a significant growth, reaching 15 million in 2000. Afterwards, it remained stable. Employment rate in healthcare sector was lower than that of the other sectors, constituting about 2 million. Agricultural sector showed an upward trend throughout the period. The number of jobs in retail and farming categories were almost similar in 2020, which was the highest among all sectors.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The student attempts to cover the main features of the chart, but there are several inaccuracies and contradictory statements regarding the data. For instance, the student states that the start year was 1996 (instead of 1960), and claims that healthcare started at approximately 3 million and showed a peak in 2020, yet later states the employment rate in healthcare constituted about 2 million. Furthermore, the final sentence contains factual errors regarding the 2020 data, claiming that retail and farming were 'almost similar in 2020, which was the highest among all sectors.' These data misinterpretations significantly detract from the task response, pulling the score down to Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response is organized into paragraphs, beginning with an introduction and an overall overview. However, the logical progression suffers due to confusing and contradictory statements in the body paragraphs. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'However', 'Afterwards', and 'During this 60-year-period', but referencing and logical flow are sometimes faulty, as seen in the disjointed movement between details about manufacturing, healthcare, and retail. Paragraphing is present, but the overall arrangement lacks clear and consistent progression, placing it at Band 5.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, with attempts at reporting trends using words like 'decline', 'growth', and 'upward trend'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors, such as spelling 'million' as 'milloin', and imprecise phrasing such as 'least figures' instead of 'lowest figures'. The range of vocabulary is somewhat limited and repetitive, and inaccuracies in word choice cause some confusion for the reader, aligning with the Band 5 descriptor.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'The line graph illustrates information about...' and 'After analysing the line graph, it could be noticed that...'. However, grammatical control is inconsistent, and errors occur when attempting more complex forms. While some sentences are correct, the presence of awkward phrasing and structural limitations mean that errors are frequent enough to cause some difficulty for the reader, fitting a Band 5.0 profile.

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

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