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)

The line graph show the number of jobs in four sectors of the economy in the US between 1960 and 2020. The jobs are in millions.

Overall, the jobs in manufacturing increased at the first and then it decreased. In contrast, retail and healthcare jobs increased throughout the period. Agriculture was only the sector which show decline in the graph.

In 1960, the sector of manufacturing had the highest number of jobs, at 15 million; then it also rose and reached at 20 million in 1980. After reaching the peak then it gradually decreased and reach at 13 million in 2020. Number of jobs in agriculture started at 6 million in 1960. Then, it gradually decreased and reached at 2 million in 1980. After that, it remain stable and then it show the minimum decreased and still in 1 million at 2020.

Retail sector continuous increased from 6 million in 1960 to 10 million in 1980. It then rose throughout the period at 16 million in 2020. On the other hand, healthcare also started at 6 million in 1960 and then it increased steadily from 5 million in 1980 to 11 million in 2000. After that, it rose and finally reached at 16 million in 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student covers all parts of the task well, providing an overview and selecting the main features to report and compare. The general trends for all four sectors are identified, such as manufacturing rising initially before falling, and retail and healthcare growing continuously. However, there are some inaccuracies in reporting specific data points compared to the visual reference. For example, the student states that agriculture reached 2 million in 1980 (it was actually 3 million) and suggests it remained at 1 million in 2020 (it was around 2 million). Similarly, healthcare is described as starting at 6 million in 1960, whereas the visual shows it started around 2 million. Despite these minor data inaccuracies, the main trends and overall comparisons are sufficiently clear.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response is arranged coherently with a clear overall progression from the introduction to the overview and body paragraphs. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different sectors. Cohesive devices are employed to link ideas, such as "Overall", "In contrast", "After reaching the peak", and "On the other hand". However, some referencing and logical transitions are slightly mechanical or faulty, as seen in sentences like "After that, it remain stable and then it show the minimum decreased", which disrupts the smooth flow of information. Overall organisation is logical, but the management of cohesion needs greater flexibility and precision.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items related to trends and data reporting, such as "gradually decreased", "remain stable", and "peak". However, there are notable word choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as "increase at the first" instead of "increase at first", "minimum decreased", and "continuous increased" instead of "continuously increased". Spelling and word formation errors occasionally occur, but communication is not impeded, and the vocabulary remains minimally sufficient to convey the main features of the graph.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting structures like time clauses and contrasting statements ("While...", "After reaching the peak then it..."). However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in verb forms, tense consistency, and subject-verb agreement, such as "The line graph show", "it remain stable", and "it show the minimum decreased". Punctuation is generally acceptable, but grammatical slips occur frequently enough to prevent the score from reaching a higher band, though they rarely impede overall communication.

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

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