Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-06

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 grap shows the information about the number of jobs in four sectors of the economy in the US from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, retail and healthcare sector indicated upward trend, while manufacturing sector slightly upward from 1960 to 1980, but rapidly decrease the number of jobs from 1980 to 2020. The same trend highlights in the agriculture department.

This bar graph shows years on X-Axis and Y-Axis reflects jobs in million from zero to twenty-five millions. Retail sector and healthcare sector give more than 15 million jobs from 1960 to 2020. Whereas, Manfacturing department provided employment facility 15 million in 1960, then reach 20 million in 1980. After 1980, number of jobs decrease day by day. It reached nearly 12 million. It is drastic change as compared to all other sectors. Similarly, agriculture sector provided jobs more than five million in 1960 but reached 2 million in 2020.

In short, retail and healthcare sector are the largest sector in terms of jobs in the economy of the US, from 1960 to 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the graph, identifying the four sectors and describing their general movements over the 1960–2020 period. However, the task is only partially addressed because some data reporting is inaccurate or imprecise, such as the claim that the retail and healthcare sectors gave 'more than 15 million jobs from 1960 to 2020' (healthcare started at only 2 million in 1960) and the misidentification of the chart type as a 'bar graph'. While an overview is attempted at the beginning and end, the development of ideas is limited and mechanical, with some confusion regarding trends. To reach a higher band, the response must accurately report specific data points from the visual input and avoid mischaracterising the graph type.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is some organisation in the response, dividing the information into a brief introduction, body details, and a concluding summary. However, there is no clear overall progression, and the sequencing of information feels disjointed. Paragraphing is attempted, but transitions between ideas are weak. Cohesive devices are used minimally and sometimes inappropriately, such as 'Whereas' and 'Similarly', which do not accurately signal the logical relationships between the data points. Additionally, referencing is occasionally unclear, making the flow bumpy. To improve, the writer should group related data more logically—such as contrasting the rising sectors against the falling ones—and employ cohesive devices more naturally to guide the reader through the comparisons.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate for describing basic trends, featuring terms such as 'sector', 'economy', 'trend', and 'jobs'. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice, form, and spelling throughout the response. For instance, 'grap' is misspelled, 'Manfacturing' contains a typo, and phrases like 'employment facility' are unnatural collocations. The student also mislabels the chart as a 'bar graph' instead of a line graph. These lexical inaccuracies and limitations cause some difficulty for the reader. To achieve a higher band, the writer needs to expand their vocabulary range, learn correct collocations for describing data, and check carefully for spelling errors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writing demonstrates a very limited range of sentence structures, relying primarily on simple sentences and basic subject-verb-object patterns. Attempts at complex sentences are often faulty, as seen in awkward clauses like 'while manufacturing sector slightly upward from 1960 to 1980, but rapidly decrease the number of jobs'. There are frequent grammatical errors, including missing auxiliary verbs ('decrease the number'), incorrect verb tenses and forms ('grap shows', 'highlights'), and missing articles ('the retail and healthcare sector'). These frequent errors can cause difficulty and strain for the reader. To progress, the writer must incorporate a wider variety of complex structures and improve basic grammatical accuracy, particularly regarding verb agreement and tense consistency.

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

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