Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The line chart illustrates about the number of vacancies in manufacturing, retail, agriculture and healthcare sector of the economy in United States over six decades i.e. 1960 to 2020.

Overall, the number of jobs in healthcare and retail sector increased gradually over the period and manufacturing and agriculture sector had a declining trend.

Over first 4 decades highest number of jobs were available in manufacturing sector with 15 million in 1960, a high of 20 million in 1980 and then a gradual decline to a low of 17 million and 14 million in the year 2000 and 2020 respectively. Despite starting off with the low of 3 million in 1960 inclined to 5 million in 1980 and 11 million in 2000 before rising to the high of 16 million in 2020.

Both retail and agriculture had same number of jobs 6 million in 1960, one of them retail reached to the high of 17 million in 2020 while other declined to the low of 2 million in 2020. First one showed a steady growth .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the broad contrast between the growing healthcare and retail sectors and the declining agriculture sector, and you report several key figures. However, the overview is partly inaccurate: manufacturing did not decline throughout the period, since it rose from 15 million to a peak of 20 million in 1980 before falling. The body also leaves the healthcare figures without a clear subject in “Despite starting off with the low of 3 million”; healthcare began at about 2 million, not 3 million. Retail reached approximately 16 million in 2020, rather than 17 million. To make the summary more complete and precise, distinguish each sector clearly and describe the main turning points and final comparisons accurately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview and two detail paragraphs, and the reader can follow the broad movement of the sectors. However, progression within the body is uneven. The sentence beginning “Despite starting off…” has no explicit subject, so it is unclear which sector is being described, while “one of them” and “other” in the final paragraph require the reader to infer the references. The final fragment, “First one showed a steady growth,” also feels detached from the preceding comparison. Use separate, clearly linked sentences for each sector and refer to them by name; this would make the organisation more coherent and cohesion less dependent on vague references.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a suitable range of chart vocabulary, including “illustrates,” “gradual decline,” “high,” and “steady growth,” and the main trends are generally understandable. Some choices are imprecise or unnatural for this task: “vacancies” suggests unfilled positions rather than the number of jobs, and “inclined to 5 million” is not the appropriate expression for an increase. “Reached to the high” is also an awkward collocation. These choices do not prevent the reader from understanding the overall message, but they limit precision. Prefer standard trend language such as “the number of jobs,” “rose to,” “peaked at,” and “fell to,” and use sector names consistently.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

There is a mix of simple and more complex forms, including the overview sentence and the longer comparisons, and most of the intended meaning can be understood. Some grammatical errors remain. For example, “manufacturing, retail, agriculture and healthcare sector” needs plural agreement, and “Over first 4 decades highest number” is missing articles. The sentence “Despite starting off…” is an incomplete clause, while “Both retail and agriculture had same number” also needs an article. Punctuation and sentence boundaries are sometimes weak, particularly in the final paragraph. Build complete sentences with an explicit subject, check articles and singular/plural agreement, and use commas or full stops to separate the comparisons.

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