Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The graph illustrate the number of employment in four sectors of economy in US from 1960 to 2020. While, line graph illustrates the relationship between the number of jobs and the years shown.

Firstly, Retail sector gradually increase over the period From above 5 to under 17 between 1960 and 2020.Whereas,

healthcare have rose steadily from above 1 to under 17 between over the period.However, manufacturing sector face a minor increase between 20 years after that they fall and stay between above 10 to under 15. While , agriculture stay constant over the period between 1 and 5 from 1960 to 2020

Overall, healthcare and Retail sector have a largest increase in 60 years and the smallest sector is agriculture.While, manufacturing have experience a largest amount of increase but it end under the healthcare and retail sector

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the four sectors and give a broad overview that agriculture is the smallest, while healthcare and retail grow substantially. However, several trends are imprecise or inaccurate: manufacturing rises to a peak of about 20 million in 1980, then declines to 13 million, rather than simply “stay[ing] between above 10 to under 15” after its increase. Agriculture falls from about 6 million to 2 million, so it does not “stay constant.” The overview also says manufacturing experienced the largest increase, although its final figure is lower than its starting point; healthcare and retail show the clearest overall growth. The response is 13 words below the required minimum, and the limited detail leaves key comparisons underdeveloped. Add accurate figures and describe the main changes more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic structure: an introduction, a paragraph describing trends, and a concluding overview. This gives the reader some organisation, and you attempt to connect ideas with “whereas,” “however” and “overall.” However, progression is not always clear because several trends are crowded into one paragraph, and the links sometimes create incomplete or confusing contrasts, such as “While, line graph illustrates…” and “While, manufacturing have experience…”. Punctuation and spacing around these connectors also make the text harder to follow. Grouping the two rising sectors together and then comparing manufacturing with agriculture would create a clearer sequence. Use fewer, more accurate linking phrases and make sure each sentence has a clear relationship to the one before it.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “sector,” “employment,” “gradually,” “steadily” and “increase,” so the reader can generally understand the subject. However, the range is limited and several word choices or combinations are inaccurate or unnatural, including “number of employment,” “face a minor increase,” “largest amount of increase” and “stay constant” for agriculture. Repetition of “sector,” “increase” and “over the period” also limits precision. Choose vocabulary that describes the data directly: for example, “the number of jobs,” “peaked at,” “declined,” and “remained relatively stable.” Check word forms and collocations when describing trends; more precise choices would make the comparisons clearer without requiring overly complex vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple sentences and longer comparisons, but control is inconsistent, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to follow. Examples include subject–verb agreement in “The graph illustrate” and “healthcare have rose,” as well as the faulty construction “manufacturing sector face a minor increase.” Articles and sentence boundaries are also problematic: “the economy in US” needs an article, while “Whereas,” and “However,” are used as if they could stand alone or begin fragments. There are also inconsistent tense forms and punctuation, such as “have experience” and missing spaces after full stops. Practise forming complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and use past simple consistently to report the historical data.

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