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 line diagram illustrates the number of jobs in four industries of the america from 1960 to 2020. The units measured in millions.

Overall, there was gradual climb in the number of jobs in retail industry over the given period. In Healthcare sector, a similar pattern was observed. Jobs in Agriculture industry steadily fell over the years.

The total number of jobs in manufacturing industry was 15 million. which peaked at 20 million in 1980 and decrease moderatly to below the 15 million in 2020. In 1960, there were more than 5 million job opportunities in retail industry was climb over the 15 million. Similar pattern was observed in the agriculture industry, In 1960 it was below the 5 million and increase more than 15 million in 2020.

In the case of agriculture industry, it was more than 5 million in 1960 but steadily decrease to below 5 million in the serval years. furthermore, the healthcare industry increase over the years from 3 million to 15 million.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the broad rise in retail and healthcare and the decline in agriculture, so the response includes some relevant overall trends. However, several key details are inaccurate or unclear, which limits how fully the graph is reported. Most notably, you say agriculture increased to more than 15 million by 2020; it actually fell to about 2 million. You also describe retail as rising “over the 15 million,” although it ends at around 16 million, and healthcare is given as rising from 3 to 15 million rather than approximately 2 to 16 million. Manufacturing is partly reported accurately, but the overview omits its rise to a peak and subsequent fall. Select the main comparisons and check each figure and trend against the graph.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response has separate paragraphs and attempts an overview before giving details, which provides a basic structure. However, the progression is difficult to follow because information is repeated and some comparisons are placed in the wrong section. Agriculture is first described as increasing, then later as decreasing, while the manufacturing and retail details are combined in a sentence that is hard to interpret. Linking words such as “Overall,” “In 1960,” and “furthermore” are present, but they do not consistently clarify the relationships between ideas. Organise the body by sector or by contrasting trends, and give each sector’s figures together. Clearer referencing and fewer repeated statements would make the report easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “industry,” “sector,” “peaked,” and “steadily,” and the reader can generally recognise the intended trends. The range is adequate but some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or imprecise: “line diagram” is less suitable than “line graph,” “the america” is not the natural name for the country, and “job opportunities” does not precisely describe the number of jobs shown. There are also spelling errors such as “moderatly” and “serval,” alongside repeated use of “industry.” Use standard sector names and precise trend language, and check spelling. These improvements would make the descriptions more natural and reliable.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences, and the overall meaning is sometimes recoverable. However, errors occur frequently in sentence construction, verb forms, articles, and punctuation. For example, “The units measured in millions” is a fragment, while “In 1960, there were more than 5 million job opportunities in retail industry was climb” combines incompatible clauses. In “which peaked at 20 million … and decrease,” the verb forms do not agree in tense, and the full stop before “which” creates faulty punctuation. Articles are also missing in phrases such as “in Healthcare sector.” Practise writing complete sentences with one clear subject and consistent past-tense verbs, then check punctuation and articles.

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