Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-04

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 4.5)

The line graph illustrates the changes in the number of jobs across four different sectors of the US economy over 60 years period , from 1960 to 2020.

In 1960, Manufacturing has the more number of employment oppurtunities with 15 million jobs. In the next two decades it reached to the peak. Although in 2000 , suddenly the job oppurtunities has decreased and in 2020 there is a drastic fall in the job oppurtunities to almost 13 million.

In 1960, Retail and Agriculture sectors has 6 to 10 million jobs and in the few decades both sectors doubled the

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

The response fails to meet the minimum length requirement of 150 words, stopping abruptly at only 99 words. Because of this severe under-length, the task is addressed only partially. While the student attempts to introduce the graph and mentions a few early data points for Manufacturing, Retail, and Agriculture, the response is heavily incomplete and trails off before finishing the overview, making meaningful comparisons or reporting the 2020 endpoint across all four sectors.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is some basic organisation with an introductory sentence and the beginning of body paragraphs, but overall progression is lacking because the essay is cut off mid-sentence. Cohesive devices are minimal and basic, such as 'Although in 2000', and referencing is not always clear or fully maintained as the text halts abruptly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is limited and minimally adequate for the task, featuring basic terms and repetitive expressions like 'job opportunities'. There are several spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'oppurtunities', which reflect a restricted control of lexical features, though the meaning remains partially accessible before the text stops.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response displays a very limited range of sentence structures, relying mostly on simple or faulty complex sentences. There are frequent grammatical errors in tense selection, agreement, and prepositions, such as 'Manufacturing has the more number' instead of 'had the highest number', and 'over 60 years period' instead of 'over a 60-year period'.

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