Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-07

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 6.0)

The line graph shows variable trends about the number of jobs in four sectors of the economy in the US since 1960 to 2020.

Overall, it can be observed that manufacturing sector produced jobs the most in 1980 and gradually decreased in numbers till 2020. While, retail almost had double the jobs in 1960 compared to healthcare and in 2020 both stood at the same point on the line chart with approximately 16 million jobs. On the other hand, Agriculture had the least number of jobs in 2020 amongst all other three US economy sectors.

In 1960 manufacturing had the highest number of jobs to offer which were 15 million. Till 1980 it had a massive jump and rose upto 20 millions. After the following years this sector in gradually started decreasing in the job numbers and in 2020 it approximately had 14 million jobs. Likewise, Agriculture sector only had 6 million jobs to offer in 1960 and which was cut into half for 3 million in 2020.

Retail and Healthcare sectors seems to be promising. The healthcare sector can be obvered in the line chart that it only had 3 million jobs in the year 1960 which was the lowest amongst all other sectors shown in the line graph but, over the years it gradually increased till 2020 when it had reached 16 million which is also equals to the number of jobs in the Retail sector.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main pattern that manufacturing peaked in 1980 and then declined, and you note that healthcare and retail reached similar levels by 2020. These are relevant overview features, and most figures you give are close to the chart. However, there are important inaccuracies: healthcare began at 2 million, not 3 million, and agriculture fell to 2 million by 2020; the response instead says it reached 3 million in 2020. The overview also omits the strong rise in retail and healthcare, while the final paragraph gives little detail about retail’s progression. To make the report more complete, compare the sectors across the period and ensure each key endpoint is accurate.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and two detail paragraphs. The broad progression from manufacturing to the other sectors is understandable, and linking expressions such as “Overall,” “On the other hand,” and “Likewise” help signal relationships. However, some connections are awkward or unclear. “While” begins a fragment-like continuation in the overview, and “Likewise” introduces agriculture even though its decline contrasts with manufacturing’s rise and fall. The final paragraph groups retail and healthcare but provides almost no separate information about retail. Organise the details by clearly contrasting the declining sectors with the rising ones, and use linking words only where the relationship is precise.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “gradually decreased,” “rose,” “increased,” and “approximately,” so the main trends are generally clear. There are also attempts at more descriptive phrasing, such as “massive jump” and “promising,” but these are not consistently appropriate for a neutral data report. Several expressions are awkward or imprecise, including “variable trends,” “jobs to offer,” and “stood at the same point on the line chart.” Spelling errors such as “obvered” also reduce accuracy. Aim for precise, conventional chart language and check spelling: for example, describe figures as “employment” or “the number of jobs,” and use “reached” or “stood at” for values.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, and the meaning is usually recoverable. However, some grammatical errors remain in sentence construction, agreement, tense, and articles. For example, “since 1960 to 2020” uses an incorrect time expression, while “Retail and Healthcare sectors seems” has subject–verb disagreement. The clause “After the following years this sector in gradually started decreasing” is difficult to control, and “which is also equals” combines incompatible verb forms. Punctuation also needs attention, particularly the comma before “but” in “but, over the years.” Practise accurate trend sentences using consistent past tense, correct agreement, and complete clauses; this will make your varied sentence forms more reliable.

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.