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 graph illustrates the knowledge about the number of jobs in Manufacturing, Retail, Agriculture and Healthcare of the economy in the US between 1960 and 2020.

Overall, Retail and Healthcare were the rose sharply, compared with Agriculture show countinuous decline. Manufacturing reach the highest point then fall sharply.

In 1960, Manufacturing was 15 millions jobs. IN 1980 MAnufacturing recorded the highest jobs, at approximately 20 millions, compared with In 2000 and 2020 it was the fall sharply at around 17 and 13 millions jobs. Agriculture show the countinuous decline In 1960, it recorded the 6 millions, compared with In 1980 and 2000 it was decline, at almost 3 and 3.5 millions jobs and In 2020 was 2 millions jobs.

In 1960, healthcare was the lowest, at approximately 2 millions than healthcare record the sharply increase In 1980, 2000 and 2020 stood at around 5, 11 and 16 millions jobs. the last one is Retail and it is alos record the sharply increase, In 1960 and 1980 was 6 and 10 millions and In 2000 and 2020 was 15 and 17 millions.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The student attempts to cover all four sectors across the specified time frame, identifying key trends such as the rise in Retail and Healthcare and the decline in Agriculture. However, the response contains several inaccuracies regarding the data, such as misinterpreting the 1960 starting point for manufacturing and struggling with precise figures. The overview is overly simplistic ('Retail and Healthcare were the rose sharply, compared with Agriculture show countinuous decline') and contains grammatical errors that obscure the clarity of the main trends. While the response addresses the prompt, the underdeveloped overview and data inaccuracies place it within the Band 5.0 range.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The essay is divided into paragraphs, but the paragraphing is poorly managed, as the body content is lumped into dense blocks rather than being structured logically by sector or time period. Cohesive devices are repetitive and often misused, leading to a mechanical and disjointed flow. Phrases like 'compared with In 1980' and 'the last one is Retail' demonstrate weak transitional control. Progression is difficult to follow because of these awkward linkages and lack of clear referencing, resulting in a score of 4.5, rounded to 5.0 for overall arrangement.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, relying heavily on words like 'jobs', 'millions', and 'increase'. There are frequent word-formation and word-choice errors, such as 'countinuous decline', 'rose sharply' used as nouns, and 'aloser ecord the sharply increase'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with little success, and incorrect collocations significantly strain the reader's comprehension. This fits the Band 4.5 profile, warranting a 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The grammatical range is extremely limited, consisting mostly of poorly constructed simple sentences and faulty attempts at complex structures. There are persistent, severe errors in tense usage, prepositions, and sentence structure (e.g., 'Manufacturing was 15 millions jobs', 'IN 1980 MAnufacturing recorded the highest jobs, at approximately 20 millions, compared with In 2000 and 2020 it was the fall sharply'). Punctuation and capitalisation errors also appear frequently. These frequent errors cause significant difficulty for the reader, aligning with Band 4.0 or 4.5.

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