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 figures beneath illustrates the sectors of United States, which are contributing in its economy and the number of employees working in it.

Generally, number of people who worked in the retaile and healthcare field improved over the period. In contrast, jobs numbers decreased in manufacturing and agriculture department.

In 1960s, the manufacturing industry recorded the highest among all to contribute in the US economy by providing 15 million jobs, In opposite, at the same time period healthcare department had the lowest staff approximately 0.25 million. In addition, healthcare jobs expanded steadily over the next six decades and reached at the top in 2020 above 15 million together with retail industry. In the field of agriculture number of labour were between 5 to 5.5 millions along with retail industry workers in 1960s.However it fell by the upcoming years and ended at almost the same figure in 2020, where the number of workers were working in healthcare industry in 1960s.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The student attempts to cover the main features of the graph, identifying the upward trends in retail and healthcare and the downward trends in manufacturing and agriculture. However, there are significant inaccuracies in data reporting. For instance, the student states that in 1960 the healthcare department had 'approximately 0.25 million' jobs, whereas the chart shows it started at around 2 million. Additionally, the phrase 'together with retail industry' is confusingly placed when describing 2020 peak figures. While an overview is present, the lack of precision in data citation and minor misreadings pull the score down to Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response is organized into four paragraphs, including an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs. However, logical progression is occasionally hindered by awkward phrasing and cohesive errors, such as starting a sentence with 'In opposite,' instead of 'In contrast.' Referencing is also sometimes unclear, as seen in the final sentence where comparisons become convoluted. Paragraphing is attempted, but overall cohesion feels mechanical rather than smooth. This performance aligns with the Band 5 descriptors.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the student to communicate basic trends using words like 'improved', 'decreased', and 'expanded'. However, there are notable spelling errors ('retaile') and inappropriate word choices or collocations ('department' used for industry sectors, 'labour' used instead of workers or jobs). Less common vocabulary is attempted with limited success. This falls squarely into the Band 5 category.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control is inconsistent. There are several grammatical errors and awkward structures, such as 'The figures beneath illustrates' (subject-verb agreement error), 'number of people who worked... improved', and 'where the number of workers were working in healthcare industry'. Punctuation errors, such as missing spaces after commas and periods, also occur. Because errors are frequent and occasionally cause some difficulty for the reader, a score of 5.0 is appropriate.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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