Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-14

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

Number of jobs in four sectors of the economy in the US, 1960-2020

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The given line graph illustartes the details about job vacancy xin four economical sector in US from 1960 to 2020. Evidently, in healthcare sector there were least amount of job in 1960, which became the most in 2020.

According to the manufacturing sector , 15 million job opportunities were there in 1960, which rose drastically and reached at 20 million. In 2000, it decreased by 3 million and in 2020 it accounted 13 million. Coming to agriculture sector, there were only 6 million job in 1960, which drop slighly between 1980 to 2020 and reached at 2 million.

In 1960, healthacre sector had least vacancy around 3 million, which rose dratically and become the highest job opportunity sector in final year with 16 million. Retail sector had same numbers of jobs as agriculture in 1960. From 1960 to 2000 it incresed significantly and accounted 15 million jobs. It increased by 1 million in 2020.

Overall, in the final year healthcare and retail sectors had the highest job veacancy. On the other hand, agriculture sector recorded with the least opportunities.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover all four sectors and identify the main overall contrast: healthcare rises from the lowest level to joint-highest by 2020, while agriculture declines to the lowest. Most figures and trends are accurate, including manufacturing’s peak of 20 million in 1980 and its subsequent fall, and retail’s steady rise. However, the overview is repeated at the end rather than giving a fuller comparison of the key changes. There is also a factual inconsistency: healthcare is described as about 3 million in 1960, whereas the chart shows 2 million. The agriculture trend is compressed into “drop slightly,” which understates its fall from 6 to 2 million. More precise, balanced coverage of the major movements would strengthen the report.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, body paragraphs and a concluding overview. The sector-by-sector grouping makes the information generally easy to follow, and phrases such as “In 2000” and “Coming to agriculture sector” signal shifts between details. However, the overview is split between the opening and final paragraph, so the main picture is not presented as one clear summary before the figures. Some transitions, including “According to the manufacturing sector” and “Coming to agriculture sector,” feel mechanical or awkward, and the paragraph covering healthcare and retail combines two trends without a clear comparison. Organise the report around an overview followed by logically grouped comparisons, and use linking phrases more naturally.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant task vocabulary, including “rose,” “decreased,” “accounted,” and “highest,” which helps communicate the broad trends. However, word choice and collocation are often inaccurate or repetitive: “job vacancy” and “job opportunities” do not describe the chart’s number of jobs as precisely as “employment” or “jobs,” while “economical sector” is not the natural phrase here. Several spelling errors—such as “illustartes,” “slighly,” “incresed,” and “veacancy”—also reduce accuracy. Some expressions, including “reached at” and “recorded with,” are not idiomatic. Build a more precise range of trend language and check spelling and common collocations before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, for example, “15 million job opportunities were there in 1960, which rose…” and “From 1960 to 2000 it increased significantly.” This gives the report some structural variety, and the intended meaning is usually understandable. However, errors in articles, plurals, agreement and sentence construction recur: “15 million job opportunities were there” has an awkward structure, “least amount of job” needs a plural form, and “it decreased by 3 million” has an unclear reference. Some clauses also use inconsistent verb forms, as in “which drop slightly” and “become the highest.” Aim for more controlled sentence patterns, check subject–verb agreement and tense consistency, and make pronoun references explicit.

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