Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-08

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 4.0)

THE GRAPH DEPICTS THE INFORMATION ABOUT FOUR DIFFERENT JOB SECTOR OF USA ECONOMY BETWEEN 1960 TO 2020

OVERALL, HEALTHCARE SECTOR INCREASE DRASTICALLY AND VERY SAID TO SAID AGRICULTURE SECTOR CONTNIUOLY DECREASED

TO BEGIN WITH MANUFACTURING SECTOR INCREASED AFTER 1960 AND CONTNIUOSLY DECREADES AFTER 1980,MOVING TO RETAIL SECTOR AND HEALTHCARE SECTOR BOTH ARE INCREASED AFTER 1960

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

The response identifies the chart’s subject and makes a relevant broad observation: healthcare rises while agriculture falls. It also notes that manufacturing peaks and then declines. However, the summary is extremely incomplete: it gives no figures, omits the key comparisons among sectors, and does not explain that retail rises steadily to about 16 million while healthcare catches up with it by 2020. The overview phrase “very said to said” is unclear, and the claim that agriculture “continuously” decreases overlooks its stable level from 1980 to 2000. The response also falls well short of the required 150 words. To improve, report the main turning points and end-point comparisons, supporting them with approximate figures.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is a basic attempt to organise the response: an opening sentence, an overview, and a final paragraph beginning “To begin with.” This gives the reader some sense of sequence, and the sectors are introduced in a broadly relevant order. However, the progression is very limited because the response stops after a few general statements and does not group or compare the data in a developed way. The linking phrase “moving to” does not clearly connect the manufacturing point to the retail and healthcare trends, while the final sentence combines two series without explaining their different rates of growth. Use separate, logically connected sentences to compare trends and include a clear concluding comparison.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The response uses some relevant chart vocabulary, including “sector,” “increase,” “decreased,” and “after 1980,” so the topic is generally recognisable. However, the range is narrow and several choices or forms make the meaning unclear. “Very said to said” appears to be an unsuccessful attempt to describe a sharp rise, and “job sector” would be more naturally expressed as “employment sector” or “sector.” There are also spelling errors such as “contniuosly” and “decreades,” which reduce accuracy. Build a small set of precise trend expressions—such as “rose steadily,” “fell gradually,” and “reached a peak”—and check spelling and word forms before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response attempts a few sentence patterns, including an introductory statement and an overview, but most clauses are short or joined in ways that are not grammatically controlled. For example, “Healthcare sector increase drastically” lacks the appropriate verb form and article, while “both are increased” uses an incorrect passive construction for a trend. The sentence beginning “To begin with” also joins several ideas with commas, creating a run-on structure. Capitalisation throughout is also distracting, and punctuation around “1980” is missing. Practise accurate past-tense reporting (“increased,” “declined”) and form comparisons as complete sentences, with one main trend per sentence and appropriate articles and punctuation.

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