Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The given line graph illustrates about the number of occupations in different four sectors of the economy in the US from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, the jobs of the healthcare is relatively lowest as compare to other professions. While retail and agriculture are slightly increasing at the same point.

In manufacturing, the economy of the job reached from 15 to 20 millions in 1980 and it is the highest from all the four sectors but from 1980 to 2020 it dramatically decreased and reached 14 millions. Retail jobs increased from beginning point to last and reached from 0 to15 millions.

Agriculture jobs is decreased from 1960 which was 6 millions and got 3 millions in 2020 which was lowest among all. Lastly, healthcare was increasing since 1960 to 2020 from 3 millions to 15 millions.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify several relevant trends, including manufacturing peaking in 1980 and then declining, and healthcare rising over the period. However, the overview contains major inaccuracies: healthcare was not the lowest throughout, and retail and agriculture did not both increase. By 2020, retail and healthcare were joint highest at about 16 million, while agriculture fell to about 2 million. Some figures are also misreported: retail began at 6 million, not zero, and healthcare rose from about 2 to 16 million. The response addresses the graph only partially, with limited selection and development of accurate comparisons. It is also 23 words below the 150-word minimum, which restricts the detail provided.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs describing the sectors. This gives the reader some organisation, and terms such as “Overall,” “In manufacturing,” and “Lastly” signal transitions. However, progression is not consistently clear. The overview groups retail and agriculture as increasing, although their trends differ, and the final paragraph combines two sectors without a clear comparison. Some linking is mechanical, while phrases such as “from beginning point to last” make the sequence difficult to follow. Organise the details around clear comparisons—for example, the sectors that rose versus those that declined—and use accurate references to the start and end years to strengthen cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use a small set of relevant terms, including “increased,” “decreased,” “reached,” and “millions,” so the main subject is generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or awkward, such as “number of occupations,” “economy of the job,” and “the jobs of the healthcare.” Repetition of “jobs” and “reached” also limits precision. These choices sometimes make the intended meaning less clear, particularly when describing values and trends. Use standard graph vocabulary consistently, such as “employment,” “stood at,” “rose,” and “fell,” and distinguish clearly between a sector’s job total and the wider economy.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt some longer structures, including “While retail and agriculture are slightly increasing at the same point,” but the response relies mainly on simple sentences and several attempts are faulty. Errors in agreement and verb forms appear in “Agriculture jobs is decreased” and “the jobs of the healthcare is.” There are also problems with articles, plurals, and sentence construction, as in “the highest from all the four sectors” and “reached from 0 to15 millions.” These errors can make relationships between figures and time periods difficult to interpret. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and subject–verb agreement, and build comparisons with controlled patterns such as “rose from X to Y, whereas…”

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