Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

The line graph illustrates the number of jobs contributing in the US economy in the period from 1960 and 2020.

Overall, Manufacturing remains the most popular job throughout the period whereas, agriculture sector is the least favourite amoung others. However, healthcare and retail sector jobs shown an upward trend and became largest contributors in 2020.

In 1960, around 15 million people were working in manufacturing sector and the number climbed further to 20 million by 1980 making it highest figure. After that jobs in manufacturing started declining and eventually reached around 14 million by 2020.In contrast, jobs in agriculture was approximately 6 million in 1960 declined further to around 4 million by 1980 and dropped slightly to 3 million by 2020.

On the other hand, Healthcare was least contributing in 1960 started at around 3 million jobs in 1960 subsequently gained popularity in 1980 by 5 million jobs and witnessed a substantial growth throughout the period by reaching its peak at around 16 million by 2020. Similarly, retail initially started at 6 million to 10 million in the same period and gained another 5 million by 2000 to 15 million jobs. After that it plateued for some time and increased slightly to approximately 16 million in 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You cover all four sectors and give a clear overview of the main patterns: manufacturing peaks in 1980 and then declines, agriculture falls, and healthcare and retail rise. Most figures are close to the chart, and the comparison that healthcare and retail reach the highest level by 2020 is relevant. However, the overview says manufacturing “remains the most popular job throughout,” which is inaccurate: by 2020, retail and healthcare are both at about 16 million, above manufacturing at roughly 13 million. Some details are also imprecise: agriculture is about 3 million in both 1980 and 2000 before falling to 2 million, rather than declining to 3 million by 2020. More precise comparisons and a fully accurate overview would strengthen the report.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear four-paragraph structure, moving from an introduction and overview to details about manufacturing/agriculture and then healthcare/retail. This gives the reader a coherent route through the information, and contrasts such as “In contrast” and “On the other hand” help signal comparisons. Some linking is mechanical, however, and the final paragraph relies heavily on “Similarly” even though retail and healthcare follow different patterns. The overview’s claim that manufacturing remains the leading sector also conflicts with the later statement that healthcare and retail reach the highest level in 2020, weakening progression between sections. Grouping the two rising sectors together while explicitly comparing their endpoints would make the organisation more cohesive and precise.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “climbed,” “declining,” “substantial growth,” and “approximately,” so the trends are generally understandable. There are also attempts at less common phrasing, but some choices are inaccurate or unnatural: “jobs contributing in the US economy,” “most popular job,” and “gained popularity” describe employment figures as if they were preferences. “Plateued” is misspelled, and “largest contributors” is less precise than describing the number of jobs. These issues do not prevent understanding, but they limit precision and naturalness. Prefer neutral reporting language such as “employment,” “the number of jobs,” “rose,” and “levelled off,” and check spelling before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You attempt a mix of simple and complex forms, including time clauses and contrasts, as in “After that jobs in manufacturing started declining” and “whereas, agriculture sector is the least favourite.” The overall meaning remains clear, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “healthcare and retail sector jobs shown an upward trend” needs a past-tense verb (“showed”), while “jobs in agriculture was” has a subject–verb agreement error. Articles and sentence construction also need attention in “agriculture sector” and “Healthcare was least contributing in 1960 started at…”. Punctuation is inconsistent, including the missing space after “2020.” A careful edit for tense, agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries would improve accuracy while preserving your range.

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