Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-15

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 the economy of jobs in four sectors in US from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, the retail and healthcare both jobs was on top in 2020. While, the manufacturing were incresed initially but reduced in 2020. Also, the agriculture slighlty reducing over the period.

The retail jobs start with 6 million in 1960 then increased dramatically to 15 million in 2000 then slightly inreased to 16 million in 2020. The healthcare was at 3 million the lowest one . it was elevated rapidly and reached the 16 million in 2020.

The manufacturing was highest in 1960 accouted for 15 million and incresed to 20 million in 1980. After that, dropped to 13 million in 2020. The Agriculture jobs was at 6 million same as retail jobs . But drpped at 3 million in 1980. After that, it fluctuating over the period

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the four sectors and report several key figures, including manufacturing’s peak of 20 million in 1980 and the rise in retail and healthcare by 2020. However, the overview is unclear: “retail and healthcare both jobs was on top” does not explain that these sectors jointly had the highest figure at the end. There are also inaccuracies or omissions: healthcare began at about 2 million, not 3 million, and manufacturing fell to 17 million in 2000 before reaching 13 million in 2020. Agriculture declined to 2 million by 2020, rather than merely fluctuating. The response is also 7 words below the required minimum. Include a clearer overview and report the main stages more accurately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic paragraph structure, moving from an introduction and overview to details about retail and healthcare, then manufacturing and agriculture. This gives the reader some organisation, and words such as “Overall,” “then,” and “After that” signal sequence. However, progression is weakened by unclear or incomplete links between ideas. For example, “While, the manufacturing were incresed initially but reduced in 2020” is an awkward, incomplete contrast, and the final sentence, “After that, it fluctuating over the period,” does not clearly state the agricultural trend. Some transitions are repetitive, particularly “After that.” Grouping the sectors by contrasting trends and using clearer links between time points would make the report easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing trends, including “increased,” “reduced,” “dramatically,” and “reached,” so the main message is generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several choices or collocations are inaccurate, such as “the economy of jobs,” “jobs was on top,” and “it was elevated rapidly.” These phrases make the description less precise or natural. Spelling errors, including “incresed,” “slighlty,” “inreased,” “accouted,” and “drpped,” are noticeable and reduce control. Aim for standard chart language such as “the number of jobs,” “rose to,” “peaked at,” and “declined to,” and check spelling carefully. More precise vocabulary would help distinguish steady change from sharp change.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts a few longer structures, including “While, the manufacturing were incresed initially but reduced in 2020,” but these are often faulty. Subject–verb agreement and verb forms are recurring problems: “both jobs was,” “the manufacturing were,” and “it fluctuating” should use correctly matched subjects and verbs. Articles and sentence boundaries also need attention, as in “The healthcare was at 3 million the lowest one . it was elevated rapidly.” Most sentences follow simple patterns, and errors sometimes make relationships between ideas difficult to understand. Practise accurate past-tense descriptions and agreement first, then build longer sentences with clear clauses—for example, “Manufacturing peaked in 1980 before declining.”

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.