Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-29

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 chart illustrates the data about number of employment in four different areas of the economy in the United States over three decades. The Jobs Units has represented in millions.

Overall, although healthcare industry started from low figures, it has contributed highest number of jobs. It can be clearly seen that the farming sector remained lowest compare to its counterparts years.

In 1960, manufacturing industry had provided 15 millions jobs, which sharply rose to 20 millions in the year 1980, afterthat it plummeted rapidly in the upcoming years.

The retail and agro sector contributed around 6 millions jobs in the year 1960. The retail sector sharply moved up by the coming year 2020, make the highest job provider while agriculture dropped from same position and remained the lowest among all categories. retail sector touched the manufacture in upcoming ye

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The student attempts to cover the main features of the line graph, noting general trends such as the rise of healthcare and retail, and the decline of agriculture and manufacturing. However, the response is cut short mid-sentence ('retail sector touched the manufacture in upcoming ye') and fails to reach the 150-word minimum, clocking in at 140 words. Furthermore, there are some inaccuracies in time span interpretation ('over three decades' instead of six, as the graph spans 1960 to 2020) and minor data misreadings. Because the task is under-length and incomplete at the end, it cannot achieve a band score higher than 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response is divided into paragraphs, starting with an introduction and an overview, followed by body paragraphs. However, the logical progression is disrupted by the abrupt ending of the text. Cohesive devices are used mechanically or are missing in places, such as 'afterthat' (which should be two words and is poorly punctuated) and 'make the highest job provider' instead of a properly connected clause. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and the overall structural flow breaks down entirely at the final sentence.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is somewhat limited and repetitive ('industry', 'sector', 'jobs', 'millions'). There are awkward collocations and word choices, such as 'number of employment' instead of 'level of employment' or 'number of jobs', and 'agro sector' instead of 'agriculture'. Some attempts at less common vocabulary are marred by morphological errors, such as 'manufacturing industry had provided 15 millions jobs'. The range is minimally adequate for the task, but lexical errors cause occasional strain.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. Errors include missing articles ('The line chart illustrates data about number...'), incorrect pluralisation ('15 millions jobs'), run-on clauses linked improperly with commas ('afterthat it plummeted rapidly in the upcoming years'), and incomplete sentence structures at the very end. While basic meaning is usually clear, frequent grammatical slips prevent the essay from reaching a higher band.

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