Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-16

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 5.0)

the line graph compares the jobs in millions and give information about the jobs in four sectors of the economy in the us between 1960 to 2020

overall acess us in four economy the Retail and Manufacturing grew fastest and finished with the highest figures while Agriculture ended with the lowest the Healthcare began with the lowest but was overtaken by the Agriculture and Manufacturing

in 1960 the the Manufacturing led with 15 millions jobs compared with 6 million for the Retail the Retail then grew steadily and overtook the Manufacturing in 2020 16 millions various 13 millions reached by 2020

Agriculture started with the highest figures at on 6 millions jobs in 1960 and Healthcare began at 3 millons Healthcare then surged passing Agriculture in 1980 millions various 5 millions and reached 11 millions in 2020 but in last Healthcare reached 16 millions by the end of the period Agriculture decreased slowly but steadily to 2 millions jobs in 2020

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the broad pattern that manufacturing and retail were major sectors and that agriculture declined, and you include several relevant figures. However, some key details are inaccurate or unclear: healthcare began at 2 million, not 3 million, and it was not overtaken by agriculture; it started below agriculture and then rose above it by 1980. The overview also says retail and manufacturing “grew fastest,” although manufacturing peaked in 1980 and then fell. The response is 149 words, one word below the 150-word minimum, and this limits the completeness of the report. To strengthen the response, give a precise overview and compare the main changes across all four sectors.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is a basic attempt to organise the report into an introduction, an overview and detail, and the reader can follow the broad movement from 1960 to 2020. However, progression is not consistently clear: the overview contains confusing comparisons, and the final detail paragraph combines several changes in a long, crowded sequence. Linking words such as “then,” “while” and “but” are used, but relationships between ideas are sometimes unclear or repetitive. For example, the healthcare figures are reported in a way that makes the timing of its rise difficult to follow. Use separate, clearly focused paragraphs for the overview and comparisons, and group related trends together—for instance, rising retail and healthcare against declining agriculture.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses some relevant chart vocabulary, including “overtook,” “surged,” “decreased” and “figures,” so the main trends can generally be understood. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, such as “the jobs in millions,” “grew fastest” for manufacturing across the whole period, and “highest figures” for agriculture in 1960 when manufacturing was higher. Spelling errors such as “acess” and “millons,” along with repeated use of “jobs” and “reached,” reduce precision. Aim for accurate trend language and vary how you describe values, while checking spelling and choosing phrases that match the data.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, and some basic relationships between trends are expressed successfully. However, sentence control is weak, with frequent errors in articles, agreement, tense, plurals and sentence boundaries. Examples include “the line graph … give information,” “between 1960 to 2020,” and the fragment-like sequence “in 1980 millions various 5 millions.” Repeated words and missing punctuation also make some sentences difficult to interpret. Practise building complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and use consistent past-tense forms for the historical data. For example: “Healthcare rose from 2 million jobs in 1960 to 16 million in 2020.”

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