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 line graph illustrates the number of job in four different sectors of the economy in the united states from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, it is evident that each sector had significant no of fluctuations throughout the period . And manufacturing has recorded the highest number of jobs whereas agriculture consistently had the lowest.

At the beginning of the period the manufacturing sector had 15 million jobs available.By 1980 job vacancies has rose from 15 million to 20 million and in 2020 the figure fell to low of 12million approximately.Retail sector showed an upward movement from 5.5 million to reaching a peak of 15.5 million approximately.

the number of jobs in healthcare increased from 2.5 million to 15.5 million between 1960 and 2020.

whereas the job vacancies for agriculture has dropped sharply from 6 million to 2.5 million between 1960 and 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the overall contrast between manufacturing and agriculture and report several relevant figures, including manufacturing’s rise to 20 million in 1980 and agriculture’s decline. However, the overview is not fully accurate: manufacturing did not remain the highest throughout, as retail and healthcare both reached about 16 million by 2020, above manufacturing at roughly 13 million. The account also omits the important changes in manufacturing after 1980 and gives only a broad endpoint comparison for retail and healthcare. The response is 142 words, below the required 150, and this limits the detail provided. To strengthen the summary, include a clearer overview of the changing rankings and describe the main stages of each trend.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview and a short account of the sectors, so the reader can identify the main topic. However, the progression is uneven: manufacturing is described first, followed by retail, healthcare and agriculture, but the comparisons between sectors are not developed. The overview’s claim that manufacturing had the highest number of jobs conflicts with the later endpoint figures, weakening the logical connection between sections. Some transitions, such as “whereas,” help signal contrast, but the final three trend descriptions are presented as separate, abrupt statements. Use clearer paragraphing and link related trends—for example, compare the growth in retail and healthcare with manufacturing’s decline after 1980—to create a more consistent progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing trends, including “increased,” “upward movement,” “fell” and “dropped sharply.” These choices make the general direction of change understandable. However, the range is limited and several expressions are imprecise or unnatural for this chart: “number of job,” “job vacancies” and “significant no of fluctuations” do not accurately describe the data. The sectors’ employment figures are better described as numbers of jobs or employment levels, and the graph does not show fluctuations in every sector. Capitalisation and spacing are also inconsistent, as in “united states” and “12million.” Aim for precise, varied trend language and accurate collocations, such as “employment rose,” “declined steadily” and “reached a peak.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple sentences and more complex structures, including the contrast introduced by “whereas,” and the main trends are generally understandable. However, errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence boundaries occur often enough to make the writing less controlled. For example, “job vacancies has rose” should use a plural subject and the correct past form, while “agriculture has dropped” does not match the past-time period being described. The sentence beginning “the number of jobs in healthcare” starts with a lowercase letter after a full stop, and “available.By” lacks a space. There are also incomplete or awkwardly joined comparisons, such as the retail sentence. Review past-tense reporting and check each sentence for a clear subject, verb and punctuation.

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