Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)
The line chart illustrates the number of jobs in manufacturing, retail, agriculture and healthcare of the economy in the US from 1960 to 2020.
Overall, the number of jobs in retail and healthcare witnessed a significant increasement, while agriculture declined over time. Manufacturing had the highest number of job in 1960 and the decreased between 1980 and 2020.
Starting with manufacturing, the number of jobs in 1960 were 15 millions followed by a huge jumb to 20 millions in 1980, and then started decreasing to lower than 15 millions in 2020. Agriculture had slightly more than 5 millions, droped to between 4 millions and then remained stable from 1980 and 2000, decreased again to the lowest number of jobs between all the remaining sectors in 2020.
Retail had more than 5 millions in 1960 and then surged to 15 millions in 2000, exceeded agriculture sector in 2020 to 16 millions. Healthcare had the lowest number around 2 millions in 1960, and then witnessed a huge jump to more than 15 millions in 2020.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The student successfully covers all parts of the task by selecting and reporting the main trends and making relevant comparisons across the four economic sectors. An overview is provided, highlighting the main overall trends such as the significant increase in retail and healthcare and the decline in agriculture. Key data points are accurately cited, such as manufacturing starting at 15 million in 1960 and retail reaching 16 million by 2020. However, there are minor calculation slips or slight misreadings in specific figures, such as stating that manufacturing jobs decreased to 'lower than 15 millions in 2020' when the chart shows 13 million, and minor issues with pluralisation of numbers like '15 millions'. Despite these minor flaws, the task is well-addressed with a clear summary of data.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is organized logically into four paragraphs, following a standard academic report structure with an introduction, an overview, and separate body paragraphs for detailed data. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as 'Overall', 'Starting with', and 'and then', creating a clear progression of ideas throughout the text. However, paragraphing could be slightly better balanced, and some transitions feel a bit mechanical or repetitive in structure. Referencing is generally clear, allowing the reader to follow the comparisons made between the different economic sectors without confusion.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for describing a line graph, using terms such as 'illustrates', 'witnessed a significant increase', 'surged', and 'remained stable'. However, there are notable lexical errors and awkward word formations, such as 'increasement' instead of 'increase', 'jumb' instead of 'jump', and 'droped' instead of 'dropped'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with varying degrees of success, and spelling mistakes occasionally detract from the overall precision of the report.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and time markers effectively. There are, however, several grammatical errors throughout the response, such as subject-verb agreement issues (e.g., 'the number of jobs in 1960 were 15 millions' instead of 'was 15 million') and awkward phrasing in verb tenses (e.g., 'the decreased between 1980 and 2020'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while these errors are noticeable, they do not impede overall communication.
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