Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-01

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 6.0)

The line graph illustrate the number of jobs in four sectors of the economy in the United States over a six decade period from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, the manufacturing sector experienced significant growth before a steady decline, whereas retail and healthcare sector accounted for rapid growth. While, agriculture faced a dramatic decrease over the same period.

In 1960, manufacturing started with 15 millions jobs, while it reached to 20 millions in 1980 and right after that it faced a dramtic dropped to approximately16 millions jobs by the end of 2020. Meanwhile, agriculture started at nearly 6 millions job and later on it faced a steady declined over the same period, which reached to around 4 millions jobs by the end of 2020.

However, in 1960 healthcare had the lowest jobs which is around nearly 4 millions, later on it significantly rose to approximately 16 millions jobs. Likewise, retail sector also started at around 6 millions jobs and reached to nearly 16 millions by the end of 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response covers all parts of the task and presents a clear overview of the main trends across the four economic sectors. Key features are selected and reported, such as the peak and subsequent decline in manufacturing and the significant rise in healthcare and retail. However, some data points are inaccurate or lack precision, such as stating that manufacturing dropped to '16 millions' by 2020 when the graph shows it fell to approximately 13 million, and incorrectly describing the 1960 starting point for healthcare as around 4 million instead of 2 million. This places the response in the mid-band range, as it successfully addresses the core requirements and highlights main comparisons, but contains some inaccuracies in reporting specific figures.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response is organized into logical paragraphs, including a clear introduction and an overall summary paragraph that outlines the broad trends. Cohesive devices are used to link ideas, such as 'Overall', 'In 1960', 'Meanwhile', and 'However', which helps guide the reader through the data. Progression is maintained throughout the report. However, referencing and cohesion occasionally feel slightly mechanical or repetitive in structure, preventing it from reaching a higher band. For example, paragraphs frequently rely on repetitive time markers and introductory clauses like 'started at' and 'by the end of 2020', which detracts from natural flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate to describe the visual data, attempting less common items such as 'significant growth', 'steady decline', 'rapid growth', and 'dramatic decrease'. However, there are notable word choice, word form, and spelling errors throughout the text that show limitation at this level. Examples include 'dramtic' (spelling), 'dropped' instead of drop after 'dramatic', and pluralization slips such as '15 millions jobs' and '4 millions job'. Despite these inaccuracies, communication is not impeded, and the range of vocabulary successfully conveys the general upward and downward movements in the chart.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as using 'whereas' and 'while' clauses to make comparisons. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, but these rarely impede communication. Examples of grammatical and structural inaccuracies include subject-verb agreement and article issues in 'The line graph illustrate' (should be 'illustrates'), missing articles ('retail and healthcare sector' should be 'the retail and healthcare sectors'), and awkward phrasing like 'healthcare had the lowest jobs which is around nearly 4 millions'. Complex structures are attempted, but they frequently contain minor structural or agreement flaws.

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