Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The line graph compares the number of jobs in four sectors of US sectors: Manufacturing, Retail, agriculture and healthcare from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, employment in manufacturing fluctuated while employment in retail increased over time. Employment in agriculture dropped continuously throughout the year. In healthcare employment, it increased steadily.

In 1960, manufacturing was the leading sector,providing 15 million jobs.This figure rose to a peak of about 20 million in 1980 and falling steadily to approximately 13 million in 2020. In contrast, retail employment followed upward trend rising from about 6 million in 1960 to peak of around 15 million in 2000 and slightly increased up to 16 million in 2020. Healthcare started from the lowest point in 1960 with only about 1 million jobs, then it grew consistently throughout the period and overtaking the manufacturing employment. Agriculture was the only sector to fall continuously , dropping from 6 million jobs in 1960 to just over 2 million in 2020 remaining the smallest sector throughout the year.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The student covers all parts of the task well, providing an overview of the main trends and reporting the key data points across the four economic sectors. The overview successfully identifies that manufacturing fluctuated, retail increased, agriculture dropped continuously, and healthcare rose steadily. Key data points, such as manufacturing peaking at around 20 million in 1980 and agriculture falling to just over 2 million in 2020, are accurately cited from the chart. Comparisons are made effectively, such as noting that healthcare overtook manufacturing and that agriculture remained the smallest sector. The response meets all requirements for Task Achievement at a Band 7.0 level.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall progression and logical organisation. It begins with an introductory statement, moves into a concise overview paragraph, and then provides detailed body information. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as "Overall," "In 1960," "In contrast," and "then." However, there are some minor mechanical punctuation and spacing issues between sentences (e.g., "jobs.This figure" and "continuously , dropping"), and paragraphing could be slightly better managed by separating the individual sector details into a clearer body structure. Overall, the logic is easy to follow, supporting a Band 6.5 score.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate and appropriate range of vocabulary for this task, incorporating functional terms such as "fluctuated," "rose to a peak," "falling steadily," "upward trend," and "consistently." There are some attempts at less common phrasing, although a few minor word choice and collocation inaccuracies appear, such as "falling steadily" instead of "fell steadily" (tense consistency) and a missing preposition or awkward phrasing in "slightly increased up to 16 million." Spelling is generally accurate, and vocabulary is sufficient to convey the message clearly, placing this at a Band 6.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including participial phrases ("providing 15 million jobs," "dropping from 6 million jobs"). There are several grammatical errors and punctuation slips, such as tense shifts (“rose... and falling steadily”), missing subject pronouns (“In healthcare employment, it increased steadily”), and punctuation spacing errors. Despite these errors, they rarely impede communication, and the structure demonstrates a decent range, fitting the Band 6.5 criteria well.

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