Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-12

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 7.0)

The line graph shows the number of jobs in the US in four different sectors of the economy from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, the figures for healthcare and retail sectors have has increased throughtout the given period, whilst, the number decreased for agriculture and for manufacturing, the numbers decreased after a sharp rise.

Healthcare sector started at lowest among all, with around 2 million jobs in 1960. The numbers grew steadily and continuously to just over 15 million in 2020, the highest among all categories. Similarly, Retail sector had only approximately 6 million jobs in the 1960. This started to rise steadily to 15 million in 2000, and later slightly increased to just over 15 million in the next two decades.

In contrast, manufacturing, the highest jobs providing sector in 1960 had around 15 million jobs in the same year. The number increased to 20 million in the next two decades, reaching the highest number of jobs by any category throughout the given time frame, before starting to drop decade by decade to around 13 million in 2020. This dropped manufacturing from the top position to third. Agriculture sector started as the second highest jobs providing sector, with about 6 million jobs in 1960. The figure dropped to around 3 million in 1980 and hovered around the same with small decrease in the following years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 8.0

The response selects the main trends and makes relevant comparisons: healthcare and retail rise, agriculture declines, and manufacturing peaks in 1980 before falling. The overview is clear, and details such as manufacturing reaching 20 million and agriculture dropping to about 3 million are grounded in the graph. The account also notes the changing rankings, including manufacturing falling to third place. This is a well-developed summary of the key features. One small precision issue is the claim that healthcare was “the highest among all categories” in 2020: it was level with retail at approximately 16 million, rather than higher. The final agriculture description could also state its 2020 figure of about 2 million more explicitly. These are minor omissions or inaccuracies within an otherwise strong response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The information is organised effectively: an introduction is followed by a concise overview, then paragraphs comparing the rising sectors and the declining or fluctuating ones. This gives the reader a clear progression through the graph, and linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Similarly,” and “In contrast” help signal relationships between trends. The comparisons are generally easy to follow, including the shift in manufacturing’s position. To make cohesion more polished, avoid the slightly awkward transition “whilst, the number decreased for agriculture and for manufacturing,” which also repeats the idea of decline. Some references, such as “This dropped manufacturing from the top position,” are understandable but could be phrased more smoothly. Overall, the structure is clear, with some room for more flexible and precise linking.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

There is an adequate range of vocabulary for describing trends and comparisons, including “grew steadily,” “hovered,” “sharp rise,” and “reaching the highest number.” These choices help communicate the main movements without relying entirely on basic terms. However, some collocations and phrasing are awkward, such as “highest jobs providing sector” and “This dropped manufacturing from the top position.” “The numbers” is also repeated, and “slightly increased” could be made more precise by describing the rise from 15 to about 16 million. The spelling error “throughtout” and the phrase “have has increased” also affect the presentation, though the intended meaning remains clear. More natural collocations and a little greater precision would strengthen the vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response uses a mix of simple and more complex structures, including subordinate clauses in “before starting to drop decade by decade” and the contrastive sentence beginning “In contrast.” Most sentences communicate the data clearly, but some grammatical errors remain. The overview contains the agreement error “figures … have has increased,” and “whilst, the number decreased” has an unnecessary comma and an awkwardly constructed clause. There are also article and number issues in “the 1960” and “the highest jobs providing sector.” The sentence “This dropped manufacturing from the top position to third” is grammatically possible but unclear in its construction. Check agreement, articles, and punctuation, and revise awkward clauses while retaining the range of sentence forms already attempted.

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