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 graph illustrate the number of jobs in four different sectors ( Manufacturing, Retail, Agriculture and Healthcare) in united states over the past 60 years, from 1960 to 2020.

Firstly, we need to understand the chart, on the left side we have the jobs in millions and below we have the time. Here if we examine at the manufacture market, we can clearly see that it expanded early in the 60's till 1980 and than we can see the gradually reduction in manufacturing over the years.

On the other hand, if we look at the retail market, it can be seen climbing continueusly fro 1960's to 2000 and then their is a steady phase for retail market started after that.

While the health care jobs was slightly steady initial from 1960's to 1980 and then the market flips and the jobs rapidly increases from 1980 to 2020.

Lastly if we focus on the agricultural field, we can see initially it went down quickly but later after 1980 it seems steaady but more on the decreasing side.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify all four sectors and describe their broad directions, including manufacturing’s rise and later fall, healthcare’s strong growth, and agriculture’s decline. However, the response gives no clear overall summary of the main comparisons, and several trends are imprecise or incomplete. For example, retail does not simply enter a “steady phase” after 2000: it continues to rise slightly, from about 15 million jobs to 16 million. Manufacturing peaks at around 20 million in 1980, while healthcare reaches a similar level to retail by 2020; these important comparisons are not highlighted. The opening explanation of the axes uses space without summarising the data. To strengthen the report, state the main overall pattern and support it with accurate figures and comparisons.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable sequence: an introduction followed by comments on manufacturing, retail, healthcare and agriculture. Linking phrases such as “On the other hand,” “While,” and “Lastly” help signal movement between sectors, so the reader can follow the general topic. However, the progression is somewhat mechanical, and there is no distinct overview that groups the most important trends before the details. The opening sentence about where the axes are is also not well integrated with the data summary. Some references, such as “their” in the retail paragraph, are unclear. Organise the report into an introduction, a concise overview, and two detail paragraphs that compare related trends rather than treating each sector as an isolated item.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of trend vocabulary, including “expanded,” “gradually reduction,” “climbing,” “steady,” and “rapidly increases,” which helps communicate changes over time. However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for describing a graph: “manufacture market,” “the market flips,” and “steady phase” do not express the data precisely. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “continueusly,” “fro,” and “steaady,” as well as inconsistent capitalisation in “united states.” These issues do not prevent the reader from understanding the main message, but they reduce precision and control. Prefer direct terms such as “employment,” “rose,” “declined,” and “levelled off,” and check spelling and word forms carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “if” and “while,” and most of the intended meaning remains understandable. However, errors in sentence structure and grammatical forms recur. For example, “The graph illustrate” needs subject–verb agreement, and “the health care jobs was” has an agreement error. In “the jobs rapidly increases,” the verb form does not match the plural subject or the past time period. The phrase “initial from 1960’s to 1980” also has an incomplete grammatical construction. Punctuation and spacing around parentheses are inconsistent. Practise writing clear past-tense comparisons, checking that each subject agrees with its verb, and using complete, well-formed clauses.

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