Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The line graph indicates the multiple jobs and its information in the four sections of the US economy from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, the manufacturing sector have more employes while the agriculture have the lowest number of workers.

In the start of the 1960, the jobs in agriculture is around 7 million but with passage of time it goes down to 2.5 million in 2020. In comparison, the number of jobs in healthcare market is around 3 million while it increase with time to 16 million in 2020. which shows a high margin.

To have a glance on retail market, it number increase from 6 million to 15 million in 2000 with high speed but after that it pace become slow till 2020 reach to 16 million. Only 1 million in 5 20 years. In addition, the manufacturing market is good at the starting from 15 million to 20 million only in 20 years but after that it gradually decrease from 20 million to 13.5 million in 40 years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response attempts to address the task by reporting information from the line graph about four economic sectors in the US between 1960 and 2020. However, the coverage is only partial and contains several inaccurate data readings. For instance, the student states that agriculture jobs in 1960 were around 7 million, whereas the graph shows 6 million, and notes that healthcare was around 3 million in 1960 when the true figure is closer to 2 million. An overview is provided stating that manufacturing had more employees and agriculture the lowest, which addresses basic trends, but the overall development remains limited and under-developed. To reach a higher level, the response would need to accurately extract and report key features without factual misreadings and provide a more fully developed overview of the main trends across all periods.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response shows some organization with basic paragraphing and introductory and concluding overviews, but there is no clear overall progression. The writing relies on simple, mechanical sequencing phrases such as 'In the start of the 1960', 'In comparison', and 'To have a glance on retail market'. Referencing is sometimes unclear, and cohesive devices are repetitive or inadequately used, such as starting multiple sentences with temporal markers. To improve cohesion, the student should ensure that ideas flow logically from one sentence to the next without abrupt transitions and use a wider variety of cohesive devices more naturally to connect the data points smoothly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and barely adequate for the task, with noticeable word choice and word formation errors that occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. Examples of awkward phrasing include 'multiple jobs and its information', 'healthcare market' instead of sector, 'it pace become slow', and 'manufacturing market is good at the starting'. Spelling and morphological inaccuracies, such as 'employes' and 'increase' where past tense 'increased' was needed, constrain the range. To achieve a higher score, the student needs to incorporate a wider and more precise range of vocabulary related to data trends and economic sectors, while avoiding repetitive and non-standard collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a limited range of structures, relying mostly on simple sentences, while attempts at complex or comparative structures are frequently faulty. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('the manufacturing sector have', 'the agriculture have'), incorrect prepositions ('In the start of the 1960'), missing articles, and tense inconsistencies (e.g., mixing present and past tenses when describing historical data like 'the jobs in agriculture is around 7 million but with passage of time it goes down'). These frequent errors can cause some difficulty for the reader. To improve, the student should practice forming error-free complex sentences and maintain consistent past tense when reporting past data.

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.