Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-05

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 graph compares the information regarding the number of jobs vacancy in four sectors of the economy in the US from1960 to 2020.

Overall, it can be observed that largest proportion workers work in manufacturing, in 1960 which was decline over the time period. Whereas, in Agriculture and Healthcare number of job vacancy increased,

Looking at the details, The largest proportion of job genrated by manufacturing, accounted for 15 millions in 1960, afterwards in next two decades figure stood at 20 millions and gradually decrease in next following years. This is followed by retail and agriculture, same number of genrated by both sectors approximately 5.5 millions in 1960. after that in retail sectors job vacancy boom up and reached at 15.5 miillions in 2020, while i agriculture sector number of jobs decline and reached at least job genrated sector.

Moving Further, it is interestigly noticeable that least proportion of job genrated by Heathcare in 1960 and reached at same as retail in 2020 by 15.5 millions jobs per year.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the task partially by presenting an overview and reporting some main features and comparisons from the graph, meeting the word count requirement after excluding prompt-copied words. However, the development is limited and contains noticeable inaccuracies regarding the data. For instance, the overview incorrectly states that the largest proportion of workers worked in manufacturing in 1960 and that this declined throughout the period, overlooking the initial rise to 20 million in 1980. Furthermore, some data points are misreported or vague, such as stating retail and agriculture both started at 5.5 million in 1960 when agriculture was actually around 6 million and healthcare started lower than stated. To move to a higher band, the student must ensure all key data features are accurately reported and thoroughly supported without sweeping misinterpretations of the trends.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some basic organisation in the response, with an introduction, an overview paragraph, and subsequent detail paragraphs. However, there is no clear overall progression; the transitions feel disjointed and mechanical, relying on repetitive introductory phrases like 'Looking at the details' and 'Moving Further'. Paragraphing is attempted, but internal cohesion is frequently inadequate or inaccurate. For example, referencing is sometimes unclear, and cohesive devices are misused or overly repetitive, such as 'This is followed by... same number of genrated by both sectors... after that in retail sectors job vacancy boom up'. To achieve a higher band, the student needs to establish a clearer logical progression and use a wider, more accurate range of cohesive devices to link sentences and ideas smoothly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The lexical range used is limited, though minimally adequate for conveying basic information. The response contains noticeable spelling, word-form, and word-choice errors that occasionally cause difficulty for the reader, such as 'vacancy' instead of 'vacancies' or 'jobs', 'genrated' instead of 'generated', 'interestigly', 'Heathcare', and 'miillions'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with a high degree of inaccuracy, and collocations are awkward, such as 'job vacancy boom up'. To improve, the student must expand their control of spelling, ensure correct word forms (nouns, verbs, adjectives), and use more precise vocabulary related to data trends, such as 'growth', 'decline', or 'fluctuation'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a very limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on basic patterns. Attempts at complex sentences are frequently faulty, leading to frequent errors in grammar and punctuation that can cause difficulty for the reader. Issues include missing articles ('in Agriculture and Healthcare number of job vacancy increased'), incorrect verb tenses and forms ('which was decline over the time period', 'figure stood at 20 millions and gradually decrease'), and subject-verb agreement errors ('least proportion of job genrated by Heathcare'). To reach a higher band, the writer needs to incorporate a wider variety of complex structures with greater accuracy, paying careful attention to tense consistency, prepositions, and article usage.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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