Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The line chart illustrates the number of careers in four economic sectors in the US from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, It is clear that the number of jobs in retail and health care sections increased throught the period. In contrast, the number of jobs in agricaltural section declined considerably over the period, whereas manufacturing section experienced a rise before the figures decreased at the end of the period.

In 1960, agriculture section started at approximately 6 millions of jobs before the figure fell considerably to around 2.5 millions and remained relatively unchanged until 2000. In contrast, Retail section experienced a gradual increase from 6 millions to approximately 15 millions in 2000. By 2020,the number of jobs in agriculture section fell slightly to roughly 2 millions, whereas retail section rose slightly to around 16 millions.

Meanwhile, Manufacturing section accounted for 15 millions of jobs. The figures then increased sharply to 20 millions in 1980, before

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response addresses the task partially, as the writing is incomplete and cuts off mid-sentence at the end. While the introduction presents a basic overview and the body paragraphs attempt to report some main features and comparisons, key details are omitted because the text trails off abruptly. The overview mentions general trends for retail, healthcare, agriculture, and manufacturing, but the final body paragraph fails to complete the description of the manufacturing sector, leaving the data under-developed and the task unfulfilled.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some organisation evident through the use of standard paragraphing and basic transitional markers such as "Overall, It is clear that", "In contrast", and "Meanwhile". However, the progression is disrupted because the response ends mid-sentence, preventing a fully coherent structure. Cohesive devices are used, but referencing is occasionally mechanical, and the lack of a complete conclusion or final body paragraph affects the overall flow and logical development of the information.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The lexical range is adequate for the task, successfully employing vocabulary related to graphs and trends, such as "illustrates", "increased", "declined considerably", and "gradual increase". There are some noticeable spelling and word-choice errors, such as "agricaltural" instead of agricultural and referring to economic sectors as "sections" (e.g., "health care sections"), but these do not seriously impede communication. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary, though precision is occasionally lacking.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response features a mix of simple and some complex sentence forms, demonstrating adequate control over basic structures. There are several grammatical errors and punctuation issues, such as unnecessary capitalization ("Overall, It is clear"), awkward prepositional phrasing ("at approximately 6 millions of jobs"), and missing spaces after punctuation marks. However, these errors rarely impede communication. The grammatical range remains somewhat limited, and the presence of errors reflects a developing command of sentence construction.

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