Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The line chart illustrates the number of professions in four different departments of the economy in the United States from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, It can be seen that, the number of works in manufacturing and agriculture decreased over the given period. While retail and healthcare increased sharply. Units measured in millions.

Looking at the details, in 1960, the number of jobs in the manufacturing area wase recorded at exactly 15 millions. After two decade, it gradually increased to a peak at exactly 20 million then fell dramatically until the terminal year. Furthermore, the amount of employment sector in the agriculture department stood at approximately 5 million in 1960. Then, the figure fell gradually over the next 2 decade, noticed over the 5 million. Thereafter, the figure remained stable by the end of period.

Delving into the remaining details, the amount of job in the retail and sectors noticed at about 5 million in 1960 and at approximately 3 million in the initial year. Afterwards, they showed significantly increase till reaching just over 15 million in 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response successfully covers all parts of the prompt by reporting the main features, trends, and comparisons across the four economic sectors between 1960 and 2020. An overview is present, highlighting the overall upward and downward trajectories. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in data reporting. For instance, the student states that manufacturing peaked at exactly 20 million, whereas the chart shows it at 20 million in 1980, and misreads the starting figure for agriculture as approximately 5 million instead of 6 million. Furthermore, the final paragraph contains confused data regarding retail and healthcare. Despite these numerical slips, the overall trends are captured adequately, placing this at a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response is organized into logical paragraphs, including a clear introduction, an overview, and separate body paragraphs for the details. Cohesive devices are employed to guide the reader through the data, such as 'Overall', 'Looking at the details', and 'Delving into the remaining details'. However, some referencing and cohesive links are slightly mechanical or awkward, such as 'After two decade' and 'noticed over the 5 million'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to structure the information, maintaining a clear overall arrangement and logical progression throughout the text, which satisfies the requirements for a Band 6.5 or solid Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student attempts a range of vocabulary suitable for describing trends, such as 'gradually increased', 'peak', 'fall dramatically', and 'remain stable'. However, there are frequent word choice and collocation inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'number of professions' instead of 'number of jobs', 'departments' instead of 'sectors', 'amount of employment sector', and 'significantly increase' instead of 'significant increase'. Spelling and morphological issues also appear, such as 'wase' and 'decade' lacking pluralization. Because these errors occur regularly but do not impede overall communication, the lexical resource fits Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as introductory prepositional phrases and subordinate clauses introduced by 'While'. However, control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. Errors include subject-verb agreement issues ('the amount of job in the retail and sectors noticed...'), incorrect verb forms ('was recorded at...'), and fragmented or awkward phrasing ('noticed over the 5 million'). Punctuation in the overview is also faulty with comma splices ('Overall, It can be seen that, the number...'). These recurring errors place the grammatical performance at Band 5.5.

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