Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

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

Overall, the number of jobs in retail and heathcare sector increased over a given period.While, the jobs in manufacturing and agriculture sector decreased.

In 1960, there was 15 million jobs in manufacturing sector and it rapidly rose to 20 million in 1980 which is then fell sharply to 13 million in 2000. However,the number of jobs in retail sector was 6 million and it suddenly rose to 10 million in 1980 and then rapidly surged to 16 million in 2000. Similarly, jobs in healthcare rapidly increased from 2 million in 1960, to 5 million in 1980 which is then sharply raised to 16 million in 2000. Moreover,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the chart’s subject and give an overview that retail and healthcare rose while manufacturing and agriculture fell. However, the report is incomplete: it stops after “Moreover,” and gives no account of agriculture, despite its steady decline from about 6 million to 2 million. Several figures are also assigned to the wrong year: manufacturing falls to 13 million in 2020, not 2000, and retail and healthcare reach about 16 million in 2020, not 2000. The overview also misses the important comparison that manufacturing was initially highest, while retail and healthcare ended joint-highest. The response is 110 words, below the 150-word minimum; 19 words copied from the prompt were excluded from the count. Complete the final comparison and report the main trends accurately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and a paragraph with selected figures. This gives the reader a basic route through the information. However, the progression is interrupted because the final paragraph ends with “Moreover,” and the agriculture series is never discussed. Linking is also sometimes mechanical or unclear: “Similarly” introduces healthcare, although it would be more useful to group the two rising sectors and compare their end values. The phrase “Overall… While” is incorrectly split into two sentences, and spacing after full stops and commas is inconsistent. Use complete paragraphs, finish each comparison, and organise the details by trend or by period so the report develops logically from overview to evidence.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of chart vocabulary, including “illustrates,” “increased,” “decreased,” “rose,” and “surged,” and the general meaning is usually clear. There are attempts to vary the language, but several choices are imprecise or repetitive: “rapidly” and “sharply” are used for changes without consistently distinguishing their size, while “suddenly rose” is not a natural description of a change measured across a 20-year interval. “Heathcare” is also misspelled, and “jobs in … sector” needs more natural phrasing. Aim for precise, neutral reporting verbs and accurate sector names; use “increased steadily” or “declined” where these better match the graph. This would make the vocabulary more controlled and suitable for an academic summary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences with time clauses, so there is some structural variety. The main trends remain understandable, but errors in agreement, articles, and verb forms recur. For example, “there was 15 million jobs” should be “there were 15 million jobs,” and “which is then fell” should be “which then fell.” The sector references also need articles or plural forms, as in “the manufacturing sector” and “the retail and healthcare sectors.” In “Overall… While,” the dependent clause is left as a fragment. Punctuation is uneven, particularly the missing spaces after “period.” and “However,”. Practise forming complete complex sentences and checking subject–verb agreement and past-tense consistency when describing historical data.

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