Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · 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 7.0)

The line graph provides the information regarding the number of jobs in four sectors, namely manufacturing, retail, agriculture and healthcare of the economy in the US over a 60 year-period ranging from 1960 to 2020, with figures measured in millions.

Overall, it is evident that there is huge growth in jobs of healthcare sector, followed by the retail segment of the US economy. In constrast, the jobs of manufacturing and agriculture saw a dip from the starting point.

From the graph, the jobs in retail steadily increased from 6 million in 1960 to 16 million in 2020. Similarly, the jobs in healthcare rose for every two decades, starting at 2 million in 1960, 5 million jobs in 1980, 11 million jobs in 2000 and finally 16 million jobs in 2020, that is roughly more than eightfolds increment from the 1960s to the 2020s.

Turning to the remaining categories, the manufacturing sector was the largest contributor of jobs in 1960, that accounted for 15 million jobs, which hit a maximum of 20 million in the 1980. It faced a gradual decline later on and ended up at contributing to 12.5 million jobs in 2020. Finally, the agriculture sector had a lower number of jobs initially i.e., 6 million, which dropped and flattened out to around 2-3 million jobs.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

The student successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main trends and making relevant comparisons across the four economic sectors. The overview clearly highlights the significant growth in healthcare and retail, contrasted with the decline in manufacturing and agriculture. Key data points, such as the peak of manufacturing at 20 million in 1980 and the dramatic rise of healthcare to 16 million in 2020, are accurately cited from the visual data. The response meets all the requirements of an effective Task 1 report, presenting a well-developed and accurate summary of the provided line graph without major omissions.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.5

The response is logically organized with a clear overall progression. It begins with an introductory paragraph, followed by a concise overview, and then logically groups the body paragraphs into rising trends (retail and healthcare) and declining or fluctuating trends (manufacturing and agriculture). Cohesive devices are used effectively to guide the reader through the data, such as 'Similarly', 'Turning to the remaining categories', and 'Finally'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas and categories, ensuring smooth navigation through the information presented in the graph.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

The student demonstrates a sufficient and generally flexible range of vocabulary suited to academic reporting. Phrases like 'gradual decline', 'flattened out', and 'largest contributor of jobs' show good control over collocation and topic-specific language. There are minor lexical inaccuracies, such as 'the jobs in healthcare rose for every two decades' (rather than 'every decade') and 'eightfolds increment' (which should ideally be phrased as an 'eightfold increase'). However, these minor slips do not impede communication, and the vocabulary used is largely precise and appropriate for Band 7.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The writer employs a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating relative clauses and participial phrases (e.g., 'namely manufacturing, retail, agriculture and healthcare of the economy in the US over a 60 year-period ranging from...'). There are occasional grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, such as 'in constrast' (spelling slip), 'ended up at contributing to 12.5 million jobs' (unnecessary preposition 'at'), and a minor preposition issue in 'jobs in healthcare sector'. Nevertheless, the majority of sentences are error-free, and the grammatical control is strong enough to support clear communication throughout.

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