Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The given line graph demonstrate information about the number jobs in four sectors of the economy of US between 1960 and 2020.

In 1960 retail and agricultural sectors were both constantly at same point but later agricultural jobs were declined and retailing gradually inclined during 2000 including a minimum drop in manufacturing which has highest jobs in 1960.

whereas healthcare sector increased the most from 0 in 1960 to 15millions in 2000. The retailing jobs and healthcare jobs are at the constant point making it popular among population in job market.

Overall the observation says the healthcare and retaing jobs has the massive number of jobs than agriculture and manufacturing which is minimum jobs between 13 million to 15 million

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify several relevant trends, including agriculture declining and healthcare rising, but the response only partially summarises the graph and contains important inaccuracies. Healthcare starts at about 2 million, not zero, and reaches about 11 million in 2000 and 16 million in 2020; it does not stop at 15 million in 2000. Manufacturing was the largest sector in 1960 and peaked at about 20 million in 1980, then fell to 13 million. The claim that healthcare and retail have a “constant point” is unclear, and the final comparison incorrectly describes manufacturing as having 13–15 million jobs while overlooking its earlier peak. The response is also 30 words below the required minimum. Include a clear overview and accurately compare the main changes across the full period.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is some basic organisation: you introduce the graph, describe trends in the body, and provide a concluding overview. However, the progression is difficult to follow because several trends are combined in long, unclear sentences. For example, “later agricultural jobs were declined and retailing gradually inclined during 2000 including a minimum drop in manufacturing” does not clearly separate the sectors or explain when each change occurred. The contrastive “whereas” also begins a new sentence without a clear connection to the preceding point, and the final paragraph repeats comparisons without resolving them. Use one paragraph for the overview and separate paragraphs to group the sector trends, with clear time references and linking phrases.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, such as “increased,” “declined,” and “number of jobs,” so the reader can recognise the general subject. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or unclear. “Retailing gradually inclined” is not a natural way to describe a rise in employment, while “constantly at same point” and “popular among population in job market” do not express the graph’s data clearly. There are also spelling errors, including “retaing,” and inconsistent forms such as “agricultural sectors” when referring to the sector itself. Choose precise verbs such as “rose,” “fell,” and “remained stable,” and use sector names consistently.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt to connect ideas using clauses and contrast, but the range of sentence structures is limited and errors are frequent enough to make some relationships difficult to understand. The opening has missing articles and a verb-form error: “The given line graph demonstrate information” should be “The line graph shows information.” In “agricultural jobs were declined,” the passive form is incorrect; use “employment in agriculture declined.” Agreement is also inconsistent in “the healthcare and retaing jobs has,” and several sentences lack clear punctuation or complete grammatical structure. Practise accurate simple sentences first, then add complex clauses with correct verb forms and agreement. This will make your comparisons easier to follow.

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