Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The given line graph illustrate the number of jobs, measured in millions, in four sectors of economy - manufacturing, Retail, Agriculture and Healthcare between the year 1960 to 2020.

Overall, the highest number of employment was experienced by Healthcare and Retail Sectors. In contrast, Manufacturing and Agriculture jobs had significantly decreased from the period 1960 to 2020.

To begin with, Manufacturing industry had provided 20 million jobs in the year of 1980 which drastically fell to approximately 14 million in the end of 2020. Retail on the another side had showed steep increased from 6 million which rose upto 16 million in the end of 2020.

Agriculture followed a different pattern, falling from about 6 million to 3 million in 1980 to 2000 before declining further to 2 million. Healthcare experienced the most significant growth from 1960 till 2020 which was just 2 million at the beggining and rose upto 16 million in 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response covers all four sectors shown in the graph and successfully highlights the main overall trends and key comparisons. The overview captures the main features well, noting the dominance of Healthcare and Retail by the end of the period alongside the decline in Manufacturing and Agriculture. However, there are minor inaccuracies in the data reporting; for example, the student states that manufacturing jobs 'drastically fell to approximately 14 million in the end of 2020,' whereas the graph shows it at around 13 million. Despite these minor discrepancies, all parts of the prompt are addressed adequately, and a clear overview is provided, aligning well with the Band 6.5 to 7.0 range.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, an overall summary paragraph, and separate body paragraphs for the individual sectors. Cohesive devices are used to guide the reader, such as 'Overall,' 'To begin with,' and 'Retail on the another side.' However, paragraphing and referencing contain some awkwardness; for instance, the phrase 'Retail on the another side' is grammatically flawed and clunky. Progression is generally clear throughout the text, and information is grouped reasonably well by sector, supporting a solid Band 6 score.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, incorporating terms such as 'employment,' 'sectors,' 'drastically fell,' and 'significant growth.' However, there are noticeable lexical and collocation errors, such as 'Retail on the another side,' 'steep increased,' and 'in the beggining.' Furthermore, the opening verb 'illustrate' fails to agree with the singular subject 'The given line graph.' These errors indicate an attempt to use less common vocabulary with mixed success, placing the lexical performance firmly at Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as relative clauses and comparative constructions. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There is a subject-verb agreement error in the opening sentence ('The given line graph illustrate'), prepositional errors ('between the year 1960 to 2020'), and spelling/form errors ('upto,' 'beggining'). Complex structures are often accompanied by mechanical errors. Because simple sentences are generally accurate while complex structures contain persistent slips, this performance matches the Band 6 descriptor.

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