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 line graph illustrates the number of jobs in four sectors of the economy in the US over the period from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, the number of manufacturing jobs decreased over the period, whereas the number of jobs in healthcare sector increased significantly. Notably, the number of jobs in retail sector is same as the healthcare sector in 2020. However, the number of employment opportunities in an agriculture sector has continously decreased.

from 1960 to 2000, the number of jobs in manufacturing sector increased from 15 million to 16 million, while the number of jobs in healthcare sector increased from 0.15 million to 11 million. However, the number of jobs in agriculture sector decline from 6 million to 0.15 million. this shows an important comparision between three different sectors including manufacturing, healthcare, and agriculture.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the broad contrast between declining manufacturing and agriculture and rising healthcare, and you include some figures. However, several key details are inaccurate: manufacturing rose from 15 million to 20 million by 1980, not to 16 million by 2000; healthcare began at about 2 million, not 0.15 million; and agriculture fell to about 3 million by 1980 and 2 million by 2020, rather than 0.15 million by 2000. The overview also misses the major rise in retail and the fact that retail and healthcare both reached about 16 million in 2020. The response contains 122 words, below the required 150, and the short length limits coverage of the data. Select the main trends accurately and support them with comparisons across the full period.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic structure: an introduction, an overview, and a paragraph with figures. The overview gives the reader a general sense of the trends, and linking words such as “whereas” and “However” show some awareness of relationships between ideas. However, the final paragraph covers only 1960 to 2000 and moves between sectors without a clear sequence; retail is omitted entirely from the detailed account. The sentence “this shows an important comparison” adds little information and does not develop the comparison. Capitalisation at the start of the final paragraph and sentence is also inconsistent. Organise the details by time period or by contrasting trends, and use each paragraph to add relevant information rather than repeat a general point.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a suitable range of task-related vocabulary, including “illustrates,” “over the period,” “decreased,” “increased significantly,” and “employment opportunities.” These choices make the topic clear, and there is some variation in how trends are described. However, several expressions are imprecise or awkward, such as “the number of jobs in retail sector is same” and “an agriculture sector.” “Continously” is misspelled, and “comparision” is also misspelled; these errors reduce accuracy. The repeated phrase “the number of jobs” also makes the report less flexible. Use standard collocations such as “employment in retail” and “the agricultural sector,” and vary descriptions with precise trend language such as “rose steadily” or “fell to.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including a contrast clause with “whereas” and a sentence using “while,” so there is some structural variety. Meaning is generally understandable, but errors in articles, agreement, tense, and sentence boundaries are noticeable. For example, “in healthcare sector” needs an article, “is same” lacks the appropriate verb construction, and “agriculture sector decline” has an incorrect verb form. The final paragraph begins with a lowercase “from,” and “this shows” also starts a sentence without a capital letter. These issues prevent consistently accurate control, particularly in longer sentences. Practise checking articles and subject–verb agreement, and keep past-tense reporting consistent when describing the historical data.

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