Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-13

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 four sectors of the US economy over a 60 year period.

Overall, healthcare and retail grew steadily over the period and eventually became the largest sectors by 2020. Manufacturing rose at first, then declined. In contrast, agriculture decreased consistently from the very beginning.

In 1960, retail initially started at around 6 million jobs. The figure than increased consistently over the next decades and stood at 16 million in 2020. Healthcare grew even faster. It increased from around 2 million in 1960 to 16 million in 2020, which was an eightfold rise. Both the growing sectors stood at the same level of 16 million.

Manufacturing and healthcare followed different paths. Manufacturing increased from 15 million in 1960 to reach a peak of 20 million in 1980, which was the highest figure on the graph. Afterwards, it fell steadily from 20 million to just around 13 million in 2020. Agriculture started from the same level as of retail in 1960. It further decreased gradually from 6 million to around 2 million in 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

The response selects the main trends accurately and gives a clear overview: healthcare and retail rise, manufacturing peaks before falling, and agriculture declines. The key figures are also well supported, including manufacturing’s peak of 20 million in 1980 and the two leading sectors reaching about 16 million by 2020. This is a strong, relevant summary of the graph. Some detail is less precise: saying retail and healthcare “grew steadily” smooths over the fact that the graph gives only four points, and the account does not compare their relative positions at the intermediate years. To strengthen the report further, make those comparisons explicit—for example, retail was ahead of healthcare in 1980 and 2000, before healthcare caught up by 2020.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The four-paragraph structure is appropriate, moving from an introduction and overview to details about the rising and declining sectors. The information is generally easy to follow, and phrases such as “In contrast” and “Afterwards” help signal changes. However, cohesion is not always smooth: “Manufacturing and healthcare followed different paths” introduces a comparison, but the paragraph then mainly describes manufacturing, while healthcare has already been covered. The repeated use of “increased” and “from … to …” also makes some progression feel mechanical. Grouping the two rising sectors together and then the two declining or fluctuating sectors would create clearer comparisons and reduce repetition.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

The vocabulary is adequate and includes useful task-specific terms such as “peak,” “declined,” “consistently,” and “eightfold rise.” These choices communicate the main movements clearly. At times, however, phrasing is imprecise or repetitive: “grew steadily” is used for trends that are only shown at intervals, and “stood at the same level” is less natural than a direct comparison. “The figure than increased” also contains a word-choice/spelling slip that slightly reduces accuracy. Aim for more varied, precise trend language and natural collocations when describing values and comparisons. This would make the report more flexible and polished without requiring unnecessarily complex vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 7.0

The response uses a good mix of simple and complex structures, and many sentences are accurate, including “Manufacturing increased from 15 million in 1960 to reach a peak of 20 million in 1980.” Past-tense reporting is generally controlled, and punctuation supports readability. A few grammatical or structural issues remain. In “Agriculture started from the same level as of retail,” the comparison pattern is faulty; write “at the same level as retail.” The sentence “It further decreased gradually from 6 million to around 2 million” is understandable, but “further” is not well suited to introducing the decline from the starting point. More consistent control of comparison structures and concise sentence construction would improve accuracy.

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