Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · 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 7.0)

The line graph illustrates the number of opportunities generated measured in millions, in four different sectors of the economy in the US from [redacted phone].

Overall, opportunities in retail and healthcare have met with a significant rise over the decades. While, agriculture and manufacturing have suffered losses during the time period.

Employment increased significantly during the first two decades with almost 5 million or a little less than 5 million for each sector except agriculture. Over the next four decades, retail and healthcare kept rising sharply until they both reached around 16 million jobs in 2020. Even though manufacturing predominated the first two decades with around 20 million opportunities created, it experienced a gradual loss of employment to around 13 million by the end of the period. On the other hand, opportunities in agriculture plateaued from 1980 to 2000 with around 3.5 million jobs, and fell slightly to roughly 2 million over the last two decades.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

The response gives a clear overview of the main contrast: retail and healthcare rise, while agriculture and manufacturing decline overall. It also selects useful comparisons, including manufacturing’s peak at about 20 million in 1980 and the convergence of retail and healthcare at roughly 16 million in 2020. Most figures and trends are consistent with the graph. However, the claim that employment increased in the first two decades “for each sector except agriculture” is imprecise: manufacturing and retail rose, healthcare rose from about 2 to 5 million, but agriculture fell from 6 to 3 million. Also, manufacturing did not decline gradually throughout; it fell after its 1980 peak. More precise descriptions of these stages would strengthen an otherwise well-focused summary.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The information is organised clearly, with an introduction, a separate overview and a final paragraph that develops the trends in chronological order. Linking phrases such as “Over the next four decades” and “On the other hand” help readers follow the comparisons, and the response moves logically from broad trends to figures. Cohesion is generally effective, though the final paragraph combines several sectors and time periods in a dense sequence, making some comparisons less easy to track. The opening of that paragraph also groups the early changes broadly before moving to later trends. Consider separating the manufacturing and agriculture details from the retail and healthcare comparison, and use more precise time references to make the progression even smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 7.0

There is a good range of vocabulary for describing trends, including “significant rise,” “plateaued,” “predominated,” and “gradual loss.” These choices allow the writer to compare increases, stability and decline without relying only on basic verbs. Some expressions are less natural or precise for this graph: “opportunities generated” and “opportunities created” refer to jobs, but the chart reports the number of jobs, while “have met with a significant rise” is an awkward collocation. “Suffered losses” is also somewhat dramatic for a numerical decline. More consistent use of terms such as “employment,” “jobs” and “the number of workers” would improve precision and maintain an appropriately neutral report style.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 7.0

The response uses a range of sentence forms, including complex clauses with “while,” “even though” and “on the other hand,” and most sentences are easy to understand. Tense control is generally appropriate for describing historical data. A few grammatical and punctuation issues remain. “While, agriculture and manufacturing…” is an incomplete subordinate clause and the comma after “While” is misplaced; connect it to the preceding sentence or write a complete sentence. In “with almost 5 million or a little less than 5 million for each sector,” the comparison is grammatically awkward and unclear. The phrase “from 1960-2020” would be better punctuated as “from 1960 to 2020.” Refining these constructions would make the otherwise controlled grammar more consistently accurate.

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