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 following graph shows number of jobs in four fields between 1960 to 2020 in US.the overall graph shows the high number of jobs in manufacturing sector for 40 years whereas lowest jobs were in agriculture sector in 60 years. the depicted graph shows the jobs in manufacturing sector were highest in 1960 and the jobs for retail and agriculture were very few and the lowest jobs for healthcare were available. in 1980 jobs for manufacturing were at considerable amount . jobs for retail and healthcare were also increased however jobs for agriculture were lowest. in 2000 jobs in all sectros rose substantially except agriculture. IN this year jobs for manufacturing were available at high rate like previous years. and jobs for health also increased impresively. IN 2020 jobs for manufacturing comes down but jobs for health care and retail increased and at the highest rate but for agriculture jobs rate remains low like previous years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the four sectors and describe several broad trends, including manufacturing’s later decline, healthcare and retail growth, and agriculture remaining low. However, the overview is not fully accurate: manufacturing was not highest in 1960; it peaked in 1980 at about 20 million. Retail and healthcare were joint highest in 2020, at roughly 16 million, rather than simply increasing to “the highest rate.” Some comparisons are also vague, such as “jobs in all sectors rose substantially” in 2000, when manufacturing had fallen since 1980 and agriculture was unchanged. To strengthen the report, give a clear, accurate overview and support it with key figures and direct comparisons across the years.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response follows the timeline from 1960 to 2020, so the reader can broadly follow the changes, and phrases such as “in 1980” and “in 2020” provide basic signposting. However, it is presented as one continuous paragraph, with no clear separation between an overview and the detailed account. Several ideas are joined mechanically with repeated “and” or “however,” and the sequence within the 1960 description is difficult to follow. The repeated references to “jobs” also make the progression feel list-like. Organise the response into a short introduction, an overview, and one or two detail paragraphs, grouping related trends and using clearer links between comparisons.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing trends, including “increased,” “comes down,” “lowest,” and “substantially,” and the sector names make the subject clear. However, the range is limited and several expressions are imprecise or unnatural, such as “jobs were available at high rate,” “jobs rate remains low,” and “jobs for health.” These choices sometimes make the intended comparison less clear. There are also spelling errors, including “sectros” and “impresively,” and inconsistent capitalisation. Build a more accurate set of trend and comparison phrases, such as “employment rose,” “the figure declined,” and “remained relatively low,” and check spelling before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt to describe changes across several time periods and use some longer sentences with contrast, for example, “jobs for manufacturing comes down but jobs for health care and retail increased.” However, the response relies mainly on simple sentence patterns, and errors occur frequently enough to affect clarity. Tense and agreement are inconsistent: “manufacturing comes down” should be in the past, while “jobs … were highest” does not accurately express the peak. Sentence boundaries and punctuation are also weak, with missing spaces after full stops and several sentences beginning with lowercase or inconsistent capitals. Practise consistent past-tense reporting and form shorter, correctly punctuated sentences before combining ideas with contrast clauses.

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