Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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

Number of jobs in four sectors of the economy in the US, 1960-2020

Student answer (Band 5.0)

The line chart illustrate about the vancancies being generated in four areas of economy in the US from 1960 to 2020.

In manufacturing department, the number of seats produce decreased compare to the start. The increase in the vacancies can be seen in the retail and the heathcare departments. Agriculture sector is also decreased at the end of the graph.

In 1960, the number of jobs were 15 millions, after that it had an increase of approximately 5 millions. But after that, there was dramatic decline in it. In the retail department, there was rise for 40 years, after 2000, it remains pretty much the same at the end of 2020.

However, the continues increase can be in the healthcare sector, it was at the lowest point in 1960, but it had been increased to approximately 16 millions vacancies. But we can see the decline in the agriculture department. This is because maybe people are more towards the education do not want to work in these type of department. By comparing all the sectors, it can be seen that healthcare had the least vacanices, but now they are leading the chart. The manufacturing department was the highest, but it is third on the list. Retail department also shown abit increase, now it is neck to neck with the healthcare department.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the task partially and attempts to present an overview of the main trends in the four economic sectors. However, some parts of the data are described loosely or inaccurately, such as stating that healthcare had the least vacancies at the start when retail and agriculture also had different starting points, and including personal speculation ('This is because maybe people are more towards the education') which is inappropriate for an Academic task. The selection of features covers the major movements over time, but the lack of a clear, consolidated overview and the inclusion of irrelevant personal commentary prevent the response from achieving a higher rating.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response attempts to organise information into paragraphs, but there is a lack of clear overall progression and logical flow between sentences. Cohesive devices are used mechanically and repetitively, such as the frequent reliance on transitional phrases like 'after that' and 'But', which disrupts the natural flow of ideas. Paragraphing is present to separate the introduction, body details, and concluding comparisons, but referencing is sometimes unclear, making it difficult for the reader to follow the exact relationships between the data points presented across the different economic sectors.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and minimally adequate for the task. There are noticeable errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'vancancies being generated', 'seats produce', and 'continues increase', which detract from the precision expected in academic writing. While the student attempts less common vocabulary related to data trends ('dramatic decline'), frequent inaccuracies in word formation and spelling are evident throughout the text. These lexical limitations cause some difficulty for the reader and reflect a restricted control of appropriate academic terminology.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a limited range of sentence structures, with frequent errors in grammar and punctuation that can cause difficulty for the reader. There are noticeable issues with subject-verb agreement and article usage, such as 'The line chart illustrate', 'the number of jobs were', and 'abit increase'. Attempts at complex sentences are often faulty, featuring awkward phrasing and punctuation errors. While the basic meaning can generally be discerned, the high frequency of grammatical slips across simple and complex forms prevents the writing from reaching a higher level of accuracy.

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