Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The line graph illustrates the number of jobs of US economy in different sectors such as manufacturing, retail, agriculture and healthcare between 1960 and 2020.

Overall, healthcare and retail sector has the highest number of jobs, while agriculture sector has the lowest number of jobs. in the beigning of the period, manufacturing icreases and this figure fell in the end of the period.

Healthcare sector rose gradually throughout the given period from about 2 million jobs to above 15 million jobs. Retail sector stood at around 6 million job in 1960 and this figure increased significantly to 15 million jobs in 2000. after that, it grew slightly to nearly 16 million job in 2020. Agricukture sector was about 6 million job in 1960 and this amount fell at about 2 million job in 1980 before remaining stable until 2000 and then it was minimally dropped 1 million jobs. Manufacturing sector stood at 15 million job and reached a peak of 20 million job in 1980 before declining marginally to just under 15 million jobs.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You cover all four sectors and identify the main broad patterns: manufacturing rises before falling, healthcare and retail grow, and agriculture declines. Several figures support this, including manufacturing’s peak of 20 million in 1980 and retail’s rise to 15 million by 2000. This gives the report a relevant overview and a good range of comparisons. However, the overview is not fully accurate: healthcare and retail are not both the highest throughout; manufacturing leads until 2000, and healthcare only reaches the top level by 2020. There are also data errors: agriculture falls to about 3 million in 1980, not 2 million, and manufacturing ends at about 13 million rather than just under 15 million. More precise comparisons would strengthen the report further.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and then details about the sectors. The information is generally easy to follow, and time markers such as “in 1960,” “in 2000,” and “after that” help show changes over time. However, the overview combines several ideas in a way that is not fully clear, and the sector details move from healthcare to retail, agriculture, and manufacturing without a particularly purposeful grouping. Some linking is also mechanical or inconsistent, especially the repeated use of “and this figure.” Organise the body around contrasting trends—for example, growing sectors together and declining sectors together—and use clearer references to make the progression smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing graphs, including “rose gradually,” “increased significantly,” “peak,” “declining,” and “remaining stable.” These choices communicate the main trends, and the range is adequate for the task. However, several word-choice and collocation problems reduce precision: “number of jobs of US economy” is awkward, “job” is repeatedly used where the plural is needed, and “minimally dropped” is not a natural description of a small decrease. Spelling errors such as “beigning,” “icreases,” and “Agricukture” are noticeable. Aim for accurate, natural phrases such as “jobs in the US economy,” “employment in agriculture,” and “fell slightly,” and proofread carefully for spelling and repeated wording.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including clauses linked with “before,” “while,” and “after that.” Most of the trends remain understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. In the overview, “healthcare and retail sector has” has a subject–verb agreement problem and needs plural agreement; “in the beginning of the period” also needs a more suitable article or preposition pattern. Sentence openings such as “after that” should be capitalised, and the final agriculture clause, “then it was minimally dropped 1 million jobs,” has an unclear passive construction. Check agreement, articles, punctuation, and verb patterns, and use direct forms such as “the figure fell to…” to express changes accurately.

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