Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-30

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)

This graph provides information about four main sectors including ; manufacturing, retail, agriculture and healthcare in US from 1960 to 2020.

Focusing on manufacturing, we can see that it raised from 15 to 20 millions in 1980 but after that it started declining and reached approximately 13 million by 2020.

Agriculture graph showed a negative aspect as it regresses and reached around 3 million which is lower than where it started.

Retail market on the other hand has shown elevation in the beginning but after 2000 we can see that its progress also does not matches its previous achievements which is concerning.

As far as healthcare is concerned it has shown progress over the years starting from 3 million to closing at 16 million.

There were some connecting points as well such as the turning point for healthcare and fall of manufacturing midway btw 2000 and 2020. Also in 1980 and 2000 all the points were aligned giving a symmetry.

Overall we can rank healthcare at top and retail as bottom making others in between.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response successfully covers all four sectors (manufacturing, retail, agriculture, and healthcare) over the given period from 1960 to 2020. Key trends are reported, such as the peak and decline of manufacturing, the steady growth of retail and healthcare, and the decline of agriculture. However, the overview provided in the final paragraph is weak and subjective ('rank healthcare at top and retail as bottom'), failing to summarise the main overall trends effectively. Furthermore, some data points contain minor inaccuracies, such as stating that healthcare started at 3 million when the chart shows approximately 2 million. Overall, the task is adequately addressed, placing the response firmly at band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The text has a coherent overall arrangement, with each body paragraph dedicated to a specific sector. However, the paragraphing is underdeveloped, and individual sentences sometimes lack smooth transitions. The use of cohesive devices is rather mechanical or faulty, as seen in phrases like 'Agriculture graph showed a negative aspect' and the rather confused concluding statements about 'connecting points' and 'symmetry' which misinterpret the visual data. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and logical progression is disrupted by these awkward concluding remarks. These features align closely with the band 5.0 descriptors.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms related to economic sectors and trend description such as 'declining', 'elevation', and 'progress'. However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and awkward phrasing, such as 'regresses' instead of 'declined', 'does not matches', and 'closing at 16 million'. Word choice and collocation lack precision in places, though communication is not severely impeded. These characteristics reflect a typical band 5.5 or 6.0 performance; given the vocabulary attempts and limitations, a 5.5 is appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'Focusing on manufacturing, we can see that it raised from 15 to 20 millions...'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, including incorrect verb forms ('raised' instead of 'rose', 'does not matches'), punctuation issues (a stray semicolon in the introduction), and missing articles ('in US' instead of 'in the US'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur regularly and limit control over more complex constructions, making a band 5.5 a fair assessment.

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