Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-17

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 6.5)

The line graph illustrates the change in number of profession in four sectors of the economy, Manufacturing, Retail, Agriculture,and Healthcare, in the US from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, the number of jobs in the manufacturing sector was the highest by 2000, before the healthcare and the retail sectors overtook it in 2020. However, the agriculture sector consistently declined and was at the lowest from 1980 to 2020. Additionally, the healthcare sector showed a substantial growth over the years.

In 1960, the initial number of jobs were about 6 million in the retail and nearly 3 million in the healthcare. By 1980, the number rose steadily to 10 million for the retail and 5 million for the healthcare sectors, before increasing significantly to just above 15 million in 2020 and overtaking the manufacturing sector.

Similary, in 1960, the number of jobs in the manufacturing sector were significantly higher at 15 million. The number grew to 20 million in 1980, before decreasing consistently to around 13 million by 2020. Finally, regarding the agriculture sector, the number of jobs amounted to roughly 6 million in 1960 and it declined to nearly 2 million

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify several important patterns, including manufacturing’s rise to a peak in 1980 and subsequent decline, healthcare’s strong growth, and agriculture’s overall fall. However, the overview contains a key comparison error: manufacturing was not the highest by 2000, when retail had about 15 million jobs versus manufacturing’s 17 million, and in 2020 healthcare and retail were approximately level with manufacturing higher only slightly? In fact, both retail and healthcare reached about 16 million, above manufacturing at 13 million. The body also gives healthcare’s 1960 figure as nearly 3 million rather than about 2 million, and the agriculture account is left without its intermediate figures or a complete comparison. The main trends are relevant, but some are inaccurate or insufficiently developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs that group the sectors. The sequence from 1960 to later years is generally easy to follow, and linking phrases such as “Overall,” “By 1980,” and “Finally” help guide the reader. This gives the report a coherent progression. However, some connections are mechanical or imprecise: “Similarly” does not clearly explain the shift from retail and healthcare to manufacturing, while “before increasing significantly to just above 15 million in 2020” makes the timeline harder to track because the 2000 value is omitted. The final agriculture sentence is also incomplete, leaving the report’s ending abrupt. Clearer grouping and more explicit time comparisons would strengthen cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use a suitable range of vocabulary for describing trends, including “declined,” “rose steadily,” “increasing significantly,” and “overtaking.” These choices communicate the main movements and show some flexibility beyond basic terms such as “went up” and “went down.” There are, however, several word-choice and spelling issues that reduce precision: “number of profession” is not an appropriate description of the data, and “Similary” is misspelled. “Consistently declined” is also not fully accurate for agriculture, which remained level between 1980 and 2000 before falling again. Aim for precise sector-related wording and use trend verbs that match each stage of the graph.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response includes a mix of simple and more complex structures, such as “before the healthcare and the retail sectors overtook it” and “before decreasing consistently to around 13 million.” Most sentences remain understandable, but some grammatical errors are present. For example, “the initial number of jobs were” has a subject–verb agreement problem, and “the number of jobs … were significantly higher” repeats this issue. The phrase “in the healthcare” also needs a more suitable article construction, such as “in healthcare.” The final sentence lacks a full stop and does not complete its comparison. Review agreement with singular “number,” article use, and sentence completion while retaining the range of structures you already attempt.

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