Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The line graph chart comapres the number of jobs between four sectors in the US from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, it is clear that the Retail sector showed an upward trend, while the Agriculture sector experienced the downward trend. It is also noticeable that the Manufacturing sector recorded the highest figures, whereas the Agriculture sector had the lowset figures.

Looking first at the Healthcare sectore, the figure stood at 2.5 million in 1960. It then increased gradually to 10.1 million in 2000, before reaching to 15 million in 2020. Followed by the Retail sector at 10 millions in 1980. It subsequently rose to 15 million in 2020.

Turning to the Manufacturing sector, value was 20 millions in 1980 the it declined to 15.2 million in 2000, before reaching to 13 millions in 2020. In contrast the Agriculture sector started from 5 million and then it slightly fell to 2.5 millions in 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the broad contrast between growth in retail and healthcare and decline in agriculture, and you include figures for all four sectors. However, the overview is not fully accurate: manufacturing was the highest sector only in 1960, 1980 and 2000; by 2020, retail and healthcare were joint highest at about 16 million. The claim that manufacturing recorded the highest figures throughout therefore misrepresents the final comparison. Several details are also omitted or imprecise: retail began at about 6 million and rose to 16 million, while agriculture fell from about 6 to 2 million. To strengthen the response, give a more complete overview of the changing rankings and report the key starting and ending values accurately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs describing sector details. Phrases such as “Overall,” “Looking first,” and “Turning to” help signal the stages of the report. However, progression within the detail paragraphs is sometimes unclear. “Followed by the Retail sector at 10 millions in 1980” is a fragment and does not clearly connect the retail figures to the preceding healthcare description. The account also jumps between sectors without consistently comparing their trends, and “In contrast” does not establish a clear contrast between the two declining and rising patterns. Use complete sentences and group sectors by trend or compare them at shared dates to make the sequence easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing data, including “upward trend,” “declined,” “increased gradually,” and “stood at.” This gives the report an appropriate basic range. However, spelling errors such as “comapres,” “lowset,” and “sectore” are noticeable, and some expressions are imprecise or awkward, including “reaching to” and “the downward trend.” The repeated use of “figure” and “sector” also limits variety. Aim for accurate spelling and more natural collocations, such as “rose to” rather than “reached to,” and use terms like “number of jobs” or “employment” where appropriate. More precise vocabulary would help distinguish a peak, a decline, and a final level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and more complex forms, including “while” to contrast trends and “before” to sequence changes. The main trends are generally understandable, but errors occur in sentence construction, articles, plurals, and verb forms. For example, “Followed by the Retail sector at 10 millions in 1980” is a sentence fragment, while “the it declined” contains an incorrect sequence of words. “The figure stood at 2.5 million” and “reaching to 15 million” also show problems with article use and verb patterns. Plural agreement is inconsistent in “10 millions” and “20 millions.” Practise complete clauses and check number expressions and verb patterns; this will make your varied sentences more reliable.

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