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 graph reflects the trend of jobs in manufacturing, retail, agriculture and healthcare sector of economy in the US from 1960 to 2020. Manufacturing, retail and healthcare show similar trend. Initially, increasr has been observed in these jobs. No decline has been observed in retail and healthcare jobs. These jobs succeed in maintaining fame. From 1960 to 2000, more job opportunities were observed in these two sectors. From 2000 to 2020, healthcare sector jobs kept on increasing while retail jobs show minor increase. Manufacturing job sector grows from 1960 to 1980. Afterwards, sharp decrease has been observed in this sector. Whereas, decline has been observed in agriculture sector. From 1960 to 1980, number of jobs in agriculture sector decreases. Less opportunities were observed in this sector. From 1980 to 2000, the number kept constant. Slight decrease has been observed from 2000 to 2020. In 1960, Manufacturing sector offer more job opportunities while in 2020, healthcare and agriculture sector offer greatest number of jobs. Healthcare sector has been significantly improved from offer least to greatest number of jobs.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response attempts to cover the main trends in the chart, noting the general trajectories for manufacturing, retail, agriculture, and healthcare. However, the task is addressed only partially, as some information is inaccurate or confusingly stated, such as claiming that 'retail and healthcare jobs' showed no decline, or stating that in 2020 'healthcare and agriculture sector offer greatest number of jobs' when agriculture actually fell to its lowest point at 2 million. Furthermore, there is no clear overview paragraph summarising the most salient overall changes, leaving the ideas somewhat limited and under-developed.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5
The response lacks clear overall progression and is not properly divided into logical paragraphs, appearing instead as a single block of text or disjointed sentences. Cohesive devices are minimal or inaccurate, with awkward transitions like 'Whereas, decline has been observed' starting a sentence incorrectly. Referencing between sentences is sometimes unclear, making the flow bumpy and forcing the reader to work harder to follow the comparisons between the four sectors across the decades.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
Vocabulary is limited and minimally adequate for the task, featuring repetitive phrasing such as 'observed', 'sector', and 'jobs' throughout. There are noticeable lexical errors, including word form and collocation issues like 'increasr' (spelling), 'maintaining fame' (inappropriate collocation for employment trends), and 'offer least to greatest number of jobs' (awkward phrasing). These errors occasionally cause some difficulty or hesitation for the reader.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The student uses a limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on simple sentences and basic subject-verb constructions. Attempts at complex or past-to-present tense shifts are often faulty, as seen in errors with verb forms and subject-verb agreement, such as 'retail jobs show minor increase' (tense mismatch), 'Manufacturing sector offer' (missing plural/third-person agreement), and missing articles like 'in agriculture sector'. Frequent errors persist throughout the text, though they rarely completely obscure the intended meaning.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.