Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-02
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 6.5)
The graph describes the trends in job distribution across four sectors of the US economy from 1960 to 2020.
Overall, the services sector saw a dramatic increase in job numbers. In 1960, the services sector employed approximately 20 million people, and by 2020, this figure surged to over 80 million.
In contrast, the manufacturing sector experienced a notable decrease. Jobs in manufacturing peaked around the 1970s at approximately 20 million but fell to around 12 million by 2020.
The agriculture sector also saw a significant decrease in employment, dropping from about 6 million jobs in 1960 to just 2 million by 2020.
The third sector started at around 5 million jobs in 1960, it grew to about 10 million in the late 2000s before experiencing a downturn during the economic recession, stabilizing at approximately 7 million by 2020.
In summary, the data clearly show a transition in the US economy from agriculture and manufacturing towards a predominately service-oriented workforce, with significant declines in both agriculture and manufacturing jobs.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 7.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.5 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The response addresses the prompt only partially because it introduces significant data errors that do not match the provided chart. For instance, the student states that the services sector employed approximately 20 million people in 1960 and rose to over 80 million by 2020, which completely misreads the four specific categories presented (Manufacturing, Retail, Agriculture, and Healthcare). Furthermore, the text invents a category ('the third sector') and misattributes data trends. While an overview is attempted at the end, the misrepresentation of key features and data points prevents the response from reaching a higher level for this criterion.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5
The response shows a coherent overall arrangement and logical paragraphing, which is characteristic of the higher intermediate band. The student successfully structures the essay with an introduction, body paragraphs dealing with separate trends, and a concluding summary. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'In contrast', and 'In summary' are used to connect ideas, although referencing occasionally becomes unclear, such as the sudden introduction of 'The third sector' without a clear antecedent from the chart. Progression is generally maintained throughout the text.
Lexical Resource: Band 7.0
The student demonstrates an adequate and flexible range of vocabulary suitable for the task, attempting less common lexical items such as 'distribution', 'surged', 'notable decrease', and 'downturn'. Word choice is generally appropriate and communication is not impeded, despite minor inaccuracies in data interpretation. Spelling is accurate, and phrases like 'predominately service-oriented workforce' show a good awareness of academic style and collocation, placing this aspect of the writing comfortably within the expected band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5
The response displays a workable mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures like 'The graph describes...' and 'Jobs in manufacturing peaked... while falling...'. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, such as the run-on sentence in paragraph five ('The third sector started at around 5 million jobs in 1960, it grew...'), which creates a comma splice. However, these errors are relatively infrequent and rarely impede communication, allowing the reader to follow the intended meaning without major difficulty.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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