Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-03

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 jobs distributed across 4 sectors namely manufacturing,retail,agriculture,healthcare in the US over 60 years from 1960 to 2020. Overall, number of employment in retail and agriculture saw a steady increase, while jobs in manufacturing and healthcare declined.

Number of jobs in retail witnessed a gradual increase, which started at over 5 million in 1960 to approximately 15 million in 2020. Likewise, number of position in agriculture has a similar trend, grew from almost 2 million in 1960 to just above 15 million in 2020. The both sector reached same number of jobs in 2020, also there is a similarity in the rate of growth.

On the contrast, jobs in manufacturing declined significantly after a initial rise in 1980 from 15 million to 20 million, it fell from 20 million to leser than 15 million. Similarly, the jobs in healthcare decreased throughout the period from roughly 7 million in 1960 to almost 2 million which records the lowest number of jobs.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.5

The response fails to accurately report the main features and trends of the data, which severely limits task achievement. There are significant data misinterpretations throughout the text, such as stating that jobs in retail and agriculture both increased significantly to 15-16 million in 2020, whereas the graph clearly shows agriculture decreasing from 6 million down to 2 million. Additionally, the overview contains factual inaccuracies by claiming that healthcare jobs declined, when the chart illustrates a steady rise from 2 million to 16 million. Similarly, the descriptions of manufacturing and healthcare are reversed or confused regarding their actual trajectories on the graph. Because the core information presented does not reflect the visual data provided, the response only addresses the task partially and contains major foundational errors in data reporting.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the information logically. There is an introductory paragraph that outlines the chart and provides an overview, followed by body paragraphs that attempt to group the data by trends. Cohesive devices are used to connect ideas, such as 'Overall', 'Likewise', and 'On the contrast' (though slightly inaccurate in collocation). However, referencing and transitions are sometimes mechanical or faulty, as seen in the confusing grouping of sectors and awkward paragraph transitions. Paragraphing is used to separate different trends, but the lack of precise logical progression between some sentences impacts the overall flow. Overall, the organizational framework is present and generally effective, meeting the requirements of this band level.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the student to attempt some less common items such as 'distributed across', 'gradually increase', and 'significantly'. There are, however, several noticeable lexical and collocational errors throughout the text, including 'number of employment' instead of 'number of employees' or 'employment figures', 'number of position' instead of 'positions', 'The both sector', and 'leser than'. Spelling and word-choice errors are present, such as 'initial rise' instead of 'initial rise', but they do not completely impede communication. The range is sufficient to convey basic descriptions of the chart, but imprecise word choices and minor errors keep the lexical score at this level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting relative clauses and introductory prepositional phrases, such as 'The line chart illustrates the number of jobs distributed across 4 sectors...'. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, particularly with subject-verb agreement ('number of employment in retail and agriculture saw', 'The both sector reached') and missing articles ('in retail', 'in agriculture', 'in healthcare'). Additionally, tense usage and prepositional patterns show some instability. While these errors do not heavily impede communication, their consistent presence across simple and attempted complex structures indicates a need for closer grammatical control.

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