Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-10

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 5.5)

The provided line graph illustrates the changing pattern in the number of jobs in the US, disaggregated by four sectors, over a period of six decades, spanning from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, in the first two decades, apart from agriculture, other three sectors witnessed a steady growth in the number of jobs. However, in the next two decades, although, healthcare and retail noted the same pattern, a notable decline is observed in the manufacturing sector while agriculture sector that experienced a decline in the number of jobs in the first two decades, kept the employment number stabilized through in the next two decades. And as for the last two decades are concerned, healthcare, retail and manufaturing followed the same trend as was witnessed in the previous two decades while agriculture noticed a slight decline from the previous two decades. Two sectors, healthcare and retail witnessed the highest number of jobs towards the end of the given time frame followed by manufacturing sector while agriculture noted the least number of jobs.

From 1960 t0 1980, manufacturing sector noted a highest number of jobs. it was rosed from15 in 1960 to 20 in 1980. After that both agriculture and retail depicted the highest number of jobs that are approximately 6 in 1960.However, in the subsequent two decades the trend diverged remarkably in these two sectors with number of jobs in retail rose to10 while in agriculture it declined to approximately 3. Healthcare also witnessed an upward trend in the first two decades from roughly

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main broad patterns: manufacturing rises before declining, agriculture falls, and healthcare and retail grow to become the largest sectors by 2020. The overview also notes agriculture’s low position at the end. However, the account is incomplete and some trend descriptions are inaccurate. For example, you say retail and healthcare continue the same pattern in the “next two decades,” but retail rises from 10 to 15 while healthcare rises from 5 to 11; the later period is also not described with supporting figures. The response ends mid-sentence (“from roughly”), leaving healthcare’s early figures and much of the 2000–2020 comparison unreported. Include a complete account of the key changes and accurate endpoint comparisons.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has an identifiable introduction, overview and detail paragraph, and it generally follows the timeline, which gives it some overall organisation. However, progression is weakened by a very long overview that repeats the same trends across successive periods, and the detail paragraph does not complete its account. Linking phrases such as “However,” “After that” and “in the subsequent two decades” help signal sequence, but some connections are awkward or unclear, particularly the sentence beginning “And as for the last two decades are concerned.” The shift from overview to details is also not fully effective because the final paragraph stops while discussing healthcare. Use shorter, clearly focused paragraphs and organise the details by sector or by time period without repeating the overview.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “disaggregated,” “steady growth,” “notable decline,” “diverged” and “stabilized,” and the meaning is generally understandable. Some less common choices are not natural or precise in context: “noted” is repeatedly used where “recorded” or “stood at” would fit better, while “the trend diverged remarkably in these two sectors” is an awkward way to describe contrasting changes. There are also spelling and form slips, including “manufaturing,” “rosed” and “t0.” Aim for accurate, natural collocations rather than adding formal-sounding words, and check spelling carefully. More precise terms such as “increased,” “fell” and “remained stable” would make the comparisons clearer.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a range of sentence forms, including complex clauses with “although” and “while,” and the main message can usually be followed. However, some sentences are difficult to control, especially the overview sentence beginning “And as for the last two decades are concerned,” which has an incomplete construction and unclear clause relationships. There are also errors in verb forms and sentence boundaries: “it was rosed from15” should use a correct past-tense verb and spacing, and “1960.However” needs punctuation and a space. The final sentence is unfinished, so its grammatical structure is incomplete. Practise building shorter comparisons with a clear subject and verb, then check articles, agreement, tense consistency and punctuation before finishing.

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.