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

Student answer (Band 5.0)

The line graph provides data related to the four different US sections of economy and the number of employments from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, it is evident that jobs in manufacturing showed the highest revenue; whereas agriculture remained at the lowest throughout the years. Other two sectors displayed a noticeable growth.

First and foremost, manufacturing was at 15 millions in 1960, and reached its peak in 1980 about 20 million; it undergoes a signifcant fall and closed at 18 millions in 2020. Although agriculture was at 6 millions in earliar year, it showed a moderate decline in recent years.

Meanwhile, retail showed a sharp rise by starting at 6 millions in1960 and wenting up to 16millions in 20

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.5

The response falls well short of the minimum word count requirement, stopping at only 118 words, which heavily restricts its ability to fully address the prompt. While the student attempts to provide an overview and mention several data points, the information is incomplete and cuts off mid-sentence at the end of the text. Furthermore, there are factual inaccuracies in reporting the data from the graph; for instance, manufacturing is incorrectly stated to have 'closed at 18 millions in 2020' when the actual figure was around 13 million, and the final sentence is incomplete, failing to finish reporting the data for retail. To improve, the writer must ensure all key features are accurately reported and the full length requirement is met.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response attempts to use basic organisational structures, such as introductory and body paragraphs, along with transitional markers like 'Overall' and 'First and foremost'. However, the overall progression is disrupted by the abrupt ending of the text and the incomplete final sentence. Cohesive devices are used, but referencing and linking can feel somewhat mechanical or inaccurate, such as 'Other two sectors' instead of 'The other two sectors'. Paragraphing is attempted, but the text is too brief to demonstrate full control over cohesive relationships and logical sequencing across a fully developed essay. To reach a higher band, the writer needs to ensure complete sentences, smoother transitions, and a fully realised structure.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for basic communication, featuring some topic-specific terms such as 'economy', 'manufacturing', 'agriculture', and 'retail'. However, there are notable lexical and collocational errors throughout the response, such as 'sections of economy' instead of 'sectors of the economy', 'number of employments' instead of 'number of jobs', and 'earliar year' (spelling error). The writer also confuses terms related to data trends, writing that manufacturing 'showed the highest revenue' rather than the highest number of jobs. To achieve a higher score, the student should expand their range of vocabulary, ensure correct word forms and collocations, and eliminate spelling mistakes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar is inconsistent. There are several grammatical and punctuation errors, such as missing articles ('at 15 millions' instead of 'at 15 million'), incorrect prepositions ('in 1980 about 20 million'), and tense/verb form errors ('it undergoes a signifcant fall' mixing past and present tenses, and 'wenting up' which is a non-standard form). Punctuation and spacing errors also appear, such as 'in1960' and '16millions in 20'. While some sentences are understandable, these frequent errors cause occasional strain for the reader. To improve, the writer needs to maintain consistent past tenses for historical data and check verb forms and prepositions carefully.

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

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