Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-11

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 graph illustrates the information about the number of jobs provided by the various sectors of the economy, in the United States of America between the year 1960 and 2020. Overall, it is clear that the Retail and the Healthcare sectors, were the ones that gave most of the job opportunities in the country.

The Manufacturing sector gave 20 million jobs in the year 1980, which was also the only all the time high for the sector, and since then it had only been gradually decreasing the number of job opportunities. Followed by the Retail sector , Which was shown to be significantly increasing the availability of jobs in the market from 1960 to 2020,with almost 15.2 millions of jobs. The Healthcare stood at the same place as the Retail sector in the year 2020 making both of them the biggest contributors to the economy.

Meanwhile, the least job providing sector, is of Agriculture, this sector had been with no rise in its economy between the respective years. The average contribution of this sector has been only around 3 million jobs. By comparision the second least contribuiting sector in the economy of the US, was the Manufacturing sector.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several important features, including manufacturing’s peak in 1980, agriculture’s low figures, and the rise of retail and healthcare. However, the overview is not fully accurate: retail and healthcare were not the sectors providing the most jobs throughout the period, but they were joint leaders only in 2020, at about 16 million each. The claim that manufacturing was the “second least” contributor is also misleading, since it was the largest sector in 1960 and 1980 and remained above agriculture at every point. Some figures and trends are imprecise, such as retail reaching “15.2 millions” rather than about 16 million in 2020. A clearer overview and more accurate comparisons would make the report more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an introduction and overview to manufacturing and retail, then agriculture. Paragraphing helps separate the information, and phrases such as “Meanwhile” and “By comparison” signal relationships. However, progression is weakened by unclear or awkward links: “Followed by the Retail sector” is a sentence fragment, while “By comparison” introduces a comparison that does not clearly follow from the preceding point. The overview also conflicts with the later description of manufacturing as the second least contributor. Organise the body around clear comparisons—for example, the two initially leading sectors versus the rising sectors—and use linking expressions only where the relationship is explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of topic-related vocabulary, including “job opportunities,” “availability of jobs,” “contribution,” and “gradually decreasing.” These choices make the subject clear, but some expressions are repetitive or imprecise, and several collocations sound unnatural. For example, “gave 20 million jobs” and “least job providing sector” are less suitable than standard chart-reporting language such as “employed 20 million people” and “the smallest sector by employment.” “No rise in its economy” does not accurately describe the number of jobs, which declined. There are also spelling and form errors, including “comparision” and “contribuiting.” Aim for precise employment vocabulary and check spelling and plural forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, and the main message is generally understandable. However, errors in sentence construction and punctuation recur. “Followed by the Retail sector” is a fragment, and “the Retail sector , Which was shown…” incorrectly begins a new clause with a capitalised “Which.” In “the Healthcare stood at the same place,” the article is unnecessary, while “the ones that gave most of the job opportunities” is awkwardly constructed. Tense choices are also inconsistent, as in “since then it had only been gradually decreasing,” where a present-perfect form would better describe a trend continuing to 2020. Work on complete sentences, consistent tense, articles, and punctuation around clauses.

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