Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The line graph illustrates data about the number of jobs in manufacturing, retail, agriculture, and healthcare sectors of the economy in the US between 1960 to 2020.

Overall, jobs in healthcare and retail sector increased over the period. Similarly, jobs in manufacturing sector rised in early period, after that decreased throughout the period.

In early 1960, around 3 millions jobs was accounted in healhcare sector and it singnificant rised in 1980 at 5 millions, then it went up over the period and recorded at 15 millions in 2020. In retail sectors, jobs was listed at 6 millions in 1960 and grew in 2020 at 15 millions, from 2000 to 2020, it saw steady at a5 millions.

Manufacturing jobs rose from 15 million in 1960 to a peak of 20 million in 1980, then fell to 13 million by 2020. Agriculture declined from 6 million to 3 million in 1980, stayed steady until 2000, and dropped to 2 million. Healthcare climbed sharply, reaching 16 million, equal to retail, in 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main overall contrast: retail and healthcare rise, agriculture declines, and manufacturing peaks before falling. The later paragraph also gives several relevant figures, including manufacturing’s rise from 15 to 20 million and fall to 13 million, and agriculture’s decline to 2 million. However, the account is only partly accurate and is weakened by conflicting details: healthcare is first said to reach 15 million, then 16 million, while retail is described as reaching 15 million in 2020, although both finish at about 16 million. The opening healthcare figure is also given as 3 million rather than about 2 million. Improve this by checking each series consistently and reporting the key endpoint comparison clearly. Nine words copied from the task prompt were excluded from the length count.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview and detail paragraphs, and it groups the sectors in a generally sensible way. The final paragraph provides a clearer account of manufacturing and agriculture, followed by a useful healthcare comparison. However, progression is uneven because healthcare and retail are discussed in the second paragraph and then healthcare is repeated in the final paragraph. Some links between clauses are also awkward: the retail sentence joins several time points with commas, making the sequence difficult to follow, and “Similarly” does not accurately introduce the manufacturing trend. Organise the details into two clear groups and use time markers or sentence breaks to show each sector’s changes without repeating information.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary such as “peak,” “declined,” “stayed steady,” and “climbed sharply,” which helps describe trends. The range is nevertheless limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or unclear, including “jobs was listed,” “grew in 2020,” and “it saw steady at a5 millions.” Spelling errors such as “healhcare,” “singnificant,” and “rised” also reduce precision. These issues do not prevent the reader from understanding the broad trends, but they make parts of the report difficult to interpret. Aim for accurate, natural trend phrases and check spelling; for example, describe a figure as “stood at” a value and a trend as “remained stable.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences, and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, errors occur frequently in basic sentence patterns and in attempts to combine information. Examples include “between 1960 to 2020” (the preposition pattern should be “between … and …”), “3 millions jobs was accounted,” and “jobs was listed,” where number agreement and sentence construction are faulty. The retail sentence beginning “from 2000 to 2020” is also incomplete or poorly joined, and punctuation does not clearly separate its ideas. Use a reliable structure such as “The number of jobs stood at X in [year] and rose to Y by [year],” checking subject–verb agreement, articles and singular/plural forms.

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