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 line graph below depicts the the number of jobs in (manufacturing, retail, agriculture and healtcare) sectors of the economy in the America between 1960 and 2020.

Overall, in the beginning the most dominant job was manufacturing jobs which was high but then drop down at the end.The most lowest job at the beginning was healthcare jobs which has seen a magnificent increase at the end.

The significant which has been increased was Healthcare and Retail jobs which where lowest at the begninig during 1960 and then increase during all the years and standing same to 16 millon jobs in the year 2020. The healthcare jobs starts with 2 million and retail jobs starts at 6 million which was high from healtcare.

The manufacturing job was one of the top job in the year 1960 with 15 miilon jobs and then goes up to 20 million in year 1980 but after that it goes down and stand at 8 million in 2020. Agriculture job starts with 6 million in the beginning during the year 1960 and then goes to the most lowest standing at 2 million jobs in 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several important patterns: manufacturing is highest initially, healthcare and retail rise, and agriculture declines. However, some key details are inaccurate or unclear. Manufacturing falls to 13 million in 2020, not 8 million, and retail and healthcare both reach about 16 million by then; describing both as “standing same” obscures their distinct trends. The overview also says manufacturing “drop[s] down at the end” without summarising the overall ranking or the strong rise in healthcare. Agriculture’s stable level between 1980 and 2000 is omitted. To strengthen the report, give a precise overview of the main changes and check each endpoint against the graph.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable paragraph structure, moving from an introduction and overview to details about rising sectors and then declining sectors. This gives the reader some organisation. However, progression is uneven: the second paragraph repeats the overview, while the final paragraph combines manufacturing and agriculture without a clear comparison. Linking phrases such as “but then” and “after that” are used, but relationships between trends are not always made explicit. Some sentences also run together, as in “at the end.The most lowest,” which interrupts the flow. Grouping the two rising sectors together and the two declining sectors together, with clear comparisons and transitions, would make the progression easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “line graph,” “sectors,” “increase,” and “million jobs,” so the topic is generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several choices are inaccurate or unnatural: “the most lowest,” “magnificent increase,” and “the significant which has been increased” do not express the trends clearly. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “healtcare,” “begninig,” and “miilon.” Use precise trend language such as “rose steadily,” “declined,” “peaked,” and “remained stable,” and choose natural collocations such as “the number of jobs in healthcare.” Proofreading spelling and avoiding repeated “job(s)” phrasing would improve clarity.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts both simple and longer sentences, including clauses linked with “but” and “which,” but control is inconsistent. Errors in agreement and verb forms appear in “the most dominant job was manufacturing jobs,” “which has seen,” and “which where lowest.” Tense and sentence construction are also faulty in “The healthcare jobs starts” and “then goes to the most lowest standing at 2 million.” Articles and punctuation need attention: the opening repeats “the,” and there is no space after the full stop in “end.The.” These errors sometimes make relationships between ideas difficult to follow. Practise accurate past-tense descriptions of chart data and build longer sentences from correctly formed clauses.

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