Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The chart below provides data about the amount of employment in Manufacturing, Retail, Agriculture, Healthcare in 1960, 1980, 2000, 2020.

Overall, Retail job witnessed a significant increase from the year 1960 to 2020, while, the number of jobs for Agriculture Dropped slightly fron 1960 to 2000.

Manufacturing witnessed a slight rise in 1960 to 2000, but experienced a drop marginally.

Healthcare job increased marginally, from 160 to

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.5

The response identifies the chart’s subject and makes a few relevant observations, including that retail employment rose and agriculture declined. However, the summary is incomplete and does not report the main comparisons across all four sectors. Some trends are also inaccurate: manufacturing rose to a peak in 1980, then fell, rather than rising from 1960 to 2000; healthcare increased substantially from about 2 million to 16 million, not “marginally.” The final healthcare statement is unfinished, and there is no clear overview of the sectors’ relative positions by 2020. The response is also 83 words below the required minimum, leaving too little detail to adequately summarise the graph. Include a complete overview and key figures for each sector.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is a basic attempt to organise the response: an opening sentence is followed by an overview and comments on individual sectors. This gives the reader some sense of the intended structure. However, the progression is not completed because the final sentence stops after “from 160 to,” and the response does not develop a full comparison of the four trends. The overview also combines two trends without clearly relating them to the other sectors. Linking is limited, with “Overall” and “while” doing most of the work, and the comma after “while” interrupts the sentence. Use separate, complete paragraphs for the overview and key details, and connect comparisons explicitly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The response uses relevant topic vocabulary, including “employment,” “Manufacturing,” “Retail,” “Agriculture,” and “Healthcare,” so the subject is generally clear. It also attempts trend language such as “significant increase,” “dropped,” and “rise.” However, some choices are imprecise or unnatural: “Retail job” and “Healthcare job” should refer to jobs or employment in those sectors, while “increased marginally” does not accurately convey the substantial healthcare growth shown. “Drop marginally” is also unclear as a description of manufacturing’s decline. There are spelling and capitalisation slips, including “fron” and the unnecessary capital in “Agriculture Dropped.” Aim for accurate trend verbs and natural collocations, and check spelling before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts more than a sequence of simple statements, using a contrast clause in “while” and a sentence with “but.” These structures show some range, and the main meaning of the first observations can be understood. However, control is uneven: “Retail job witnessed” has a singular/plural agreement problem, and “Manufacturing witnessed a slight rise in 1960 to 2000” uses an incorrect preposition pattern. The comma after “while” is also misplaced. Most importantly, “Healthcare job increased marginally, from 160 to” is an incomplete sentence, so its meaning cannot be recovered. Practise complete comparisons using accurate past-tense forms, and proofread each sentence for agreement, prepositions, and completion.

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