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 graph indicates the jobs in four sectors of the economy in US from 1960 to 2020. On y-axis of the graph there are numbers in group of 5 upto 25 indicating number of jobs in millions, and on x-axis its year starting from 1960 upto 2020 divided into 4 groups of 20 year of gap. Manufacturing sector is denoted by a line with empty circle in it, retail is denoted by empty triangle in it, agriculture by solid square in it, and healthcare solid rhombus.

Starting from 1960, the manufacturing jobs were 15 million, retail and agriculture were more than 5 million and healthcare around 2.5 million. In 1980, manufacturing jobs reached 20 million, retail 10 million, healthcare 5 million, and agriculture dropped from 5 million. In 2000, the manufacturing jobs dropped to nearly 15 million plus, retail jobs increased gradually reaching 15 million as well as healthcare crossing 10 million, but agriculture remained consistant showing no changes. Finally in 2020, healthcare and retail reached same point crossing 15 million, manufacturing dropping gradually reaching below 15 million and agriculture dropped gradually reaching 0 million plus.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student covers all four economic sectors shown in the graph and attempts to trace their trajectories from 1960 to 2020. However, the introduction wastes valuable space and time describing the mechanical features of the graph, such as the axes and the symbols used for legend items, rather than paraphrasing the prompt effectively. Furthermore, the selection of data points is somewhat mechanical, reading almost like raw data extraction rather than a cohesive summary of main trends. For instance, stating exact intermediate values without fully highlighting the overall shifts limits the quality of task response. The overview of trends is sparse, lacking a clear introductory summary of the overarching movements, such as the rise of services versus the decline of manufacturing and agriculture.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response is structured into an introduction and a couple of body paragraphs, but the paragraphing is underdeveloped, grouping too much chronological data together into dense blocks of text. Cohesive devices are used mechanically and repetitively (e.g., 'Starting from...', 'In 1980...', 'In 2000...', 'Finally in 2020...'), which creates a list-like progression rather than a fluid, logical flow. Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as '15 million plus' or '0 million plus', which disrupts the logical transition of ideas. While there is a chronological sequence, the lack of sophisticated cohesive linking and poor paragraph separation pulls the score down to Band 5.5.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for a basic summary but lacks precision and range. The student relies heavily on basic verbs and repetitive phrases like 'reaching', 'dropped', and 'increased'. There are awkward lexical choices and imprecise phrasing, such as '15 million plus' and '0 million plus'. Less common lexical items are rarely attempted, and when they are, collocation is sometimes awkward ('agriculture remained consistant showing no changes'). Spelling is generally acceptable, but the overall lexical range remains limited and repetitive, fitting the criteria for Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several minor errors, such as missing articles ('in US' instead of 'in the US', 'on y-axis'), spelling mistakes ('consistant' instead of 'consistent'), and awkward prepositional usage ('in group of 5 upto 25'). Punctuation is basic, and some sentences become run-on lists of clauses without proper subordination. While meaning is generally conveyed, the frequency of minor errors and the lack of advanced syntactic control prevent the score from reaching Band 6.0.

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