Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-28
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 bar graph illustrates the number of jobs in the US in four sectors such as manufacturing, retail, agriculture, and healthcare in four different years such as 1960, 1980, 2000, 2020. The units are measured in millions.
Overall, the number of jobs in manufacturing sector was the highest in the graph. The least number of jobs in agriculture sector. In general the jobs in retail and healthcare sector increase every year in this graph.
Now turing to the deatils, the number of jobs in manufacturing sector significant increase to the 20 millions in 1980, and in a retail sector plummeted to the 10 million at the same time. The number of jobs retail sector in US increase sightly to the 16 millions in 2020. The number of jobs in agricutlture sector drametic increase to the 15 millions in 2020 while in 2000 free fall to the 10 million.
As an overall trend, the number of jobs in agriculture sector decreased every years. In comparison, the number of jobs in retail sectors significant growth to the 15 milions in year 2020 while in agriculture sector plummeted to the 3 millions at the same time.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The student attempts to cover the main trends in the chart, noting the overall positions and some specific changes over time. However, there are significant data misinterpretations and contradictions. For instance, the student states that manufacturing 'significant increase to the 20 millions in 1980' (which is correct), but later describes agriculture as having 'drametic increase to the 15 millions in 2020 while in 2000 free fall to the 10 million', which completely contradicts the actual data where agriculture hovered around 2-3 million. Additionally, the chart is a line graph, but the student mistakenly refers to it as a 'bar graph' in the opening sentence. These factual inaccuracies and confusion regarding data points pull the score down to Band 5.0.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The essay is divided into paragraphs, including an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs detailing specific data points. However, the logical progression is disrupted by contradictory statements and repetitive conclusions (e.g., the final paragraph repeats information about agriculture and retail). Cohesive devices are minimal and often misused or awkwardly constructed, such as 'Now turing to the deatils' and 'As an overall trend'. Paragraphing is attempted, but internal cohesion within paragraphs suffers from broken sentence structures and unclear referencing. Overall, the organization is somewhat disjointed, fitting the Band 5 descriptor.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The student uses an adequate basic vocabulary related to economic sectors ('manufacturing', 'retail', 'agriculture', 'healthcare') and numbers ('millions'). However, there are numerous word form errors and incorrect collocations, such as 'significant increase' instead of 'significantly increased', 'retail sector in US increase sightly', and 'drametic increase'. Furthermore, non-existent or heavily misspelled words like 'agricutlture' and 'deatils' appear, along with inappropriate lexical choices like 'free fall'. The lexical range is limited and frequently inaccurate, reflecting a Band 5 level.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response shows a very limited range of grammatical structures, consisting mostly of simple sentences with frequent structural errors. There are numerous tense and word-class errors, such as 'the number of jobs in manufacturing sector was the highest', 'jobs in retail and healthcare sector increase', and 'retail sectors significant growth'. Complex sentence attempts are frequently faulty or ungrammatical, lacking proper verb forms or prepositions. Frequent errors in basic grammar cause noticeable strain and difficulty for the reader, aligning with Band 5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.