Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · 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 7.0)

The line graphs provides data about the figures of jobs in the US job market in the sector of manufacturing, retail, agriculture and healthcare from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, the jobs in manufacture and agriculture dropped considerably. Conversely, the retail and healthcare department experienced an upward trend where both reached the same values in 2020.

To start with, in 1960, manufacturing department provided about 15 million jobs, which was the highest number among all the four categories, peaked in 1980 at 20 million before declining dramatically to 13 million in 2020. Similarly, agriculture also experience a plunge started from 6 million followed by gradual decrease to reach 2 million in 2020.

On the other hand, retail showed a sharp rise starting from 6 million, exceeding manufacture to reach a number just over 15 million before settling at 16 million in 2020. Furthermore, healthcare was the least contributor in 1960 with only 2 million jobs, it overtook agriculture and manufacture to reach 16 million in 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

The response selects the main trends and gives a clear overview: manufacturing and agriculture decline overall, while retail and healthcare rise, with the latter two reaching the same level by 2020. The key figures for manufacturing and the endpoints are accurately reported, and the comparison between the initially smallest healthcare sector and its later growth is relevant. Some detail is less precise: retail is said to exceed manufacturing, although it only does so by 2020, and healthcare does not overtake manufacturing at any point in the period. The agriculture trend is also compressed, omitting its fall to 3 million by 1980 and stability through 2000. More exact comparisons and intermediate stages would make the account more fully developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response is organised effectively into an introduction, an overview and two body paragraphs, with the sectors grouped into declining and rising trends. This gives the reader a clear progression, and linking phrases such as “Overall,” “Similarly” and “On the other hand” help signal relationships. The comparisons are generally easy to follow, although the final sentence joins two complete ideas with only a comma (“…in 1960 with only 2 million jobs, it overtook…”), which weakens the flow. Some transitions also imply a more exact sequence than the data supports, particularly the claim that retail exceeded manufacturing before reaching its final figure. Clearer sentence boundaries and more precise linking would strengthen cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

There is a reasonable range of trend vocabulary, including “peaked,” “declining,” “plunge,” “sharp rise” and “settling,” which helps describe changes without relying only on basic terms. However, several choices are imprecise or unnatural for this chart: “figures of jobs,” “manufacture” as a sector, “department” for an economic sector, and “least contributor” do not express the data as naturally as standard chart language. “Dramatically” also overstates the manufacturing decline somewhat. These choices do not prevent understanding, but they limit precision and collocational control. Prefer concise terms such as “number of jobs,” “manufacturing sector,” and “employer” or simply “sector with the fewest jobs.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response attempts a mix of simple and complex structures, including relative clauses (“which was the highest number…”) and participial phrasing (“starting from 6 million”). Meaning remains clear, but some errors recur in agreement, tense and sentence construction. For example, “The line graphs provides” has subject–verb disagreement, while “agriculture also experience” uses the wrong verb form and “a plunge started from” is not a well-formed construction. The final sentence is a comma splice, and “healthcare was the least contributor…, it overtook…” would be clearer as two sentences or a properly joined clause. More consistent past-tense reporting and careful editing of agreement and punctuation would improve accuracy.

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