Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-18

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 number of employments in different sectors of the US economy including manufacturing, retail, healthcare and agriculture over a time period of 60 years.

Overall, retail and healthcare continued to show considerable growth and had the highest number of employments at the end. Agriculture showed a downward trend and manufacturing started to decline after peak in 1980.

Turning to the two sectors that showed substantial growth. Retail started with 6 million in 1960 continued to grow and reached 10 million in 1980 and 15 million in 2000 before reaching to 16 million in 2020. Healthcare followed retail and showed even more growth starting with 6 million and reaching to 16 miilion in 2020. notably, both retail and healthcare ended with same number of jobs and had the highest number of employments at the end.

Two sectors that showed a downward or mixed trend are manufacturing and agriculture. Manufacturing was the largest employer in 1960 with 15 million jobs and peaked in 1980 before falling to 13 million in 2020. Agriculture by contrast, showed a downward trend. It stood at 6 million in 1960 and continued to decrease till 1980. The figure then remained unchaged before further falling to 2 million in 2020.Thus, manufacturing reamined higher than agriclture.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You identify the main patterns accurately: retail and healthcare rise, agriculture declines, and manufacturing peaks in 1980 before falling. The overview also correctly notes that retail and healthcare finish joint-highest, and the body supports this with relevant figures, including manufacturing’s 15 million jobs in 1960 and agriculture’s fall to 2 million. This gives the report a clear, well-supported account of the key trends. To make the coverage more fully developed, include the manufacturing figures at its peak and in 2000, and clarify that healthcare began at 2 million, not 6 million: the phrase “starting with 6 million” appears to confuse it with agriculture or retail. These are limited inaccuracies and omissions within an otherwise effective summary.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response is arranged in a sensible sequence: an introduction and overview are followed by paragraphs grouping the rising sectors and the declining or mixed sectors. Phrases such as “Turning to” and “by contrast” help signal these shifts, and the reader can follow the comparisons. However, some linking is mechanical or repetitive, particularly the repeated statement that retail and healthcare had the highest employment at the end. The sentence beginning “Retail started with 6 million in 1960 continued to grow” also needs clearer punctuation or a connector, while “Healthcare followed retail” is not a precise reference because the two series do not follow the same values. More varied, accurate links and tighter referencing would make the progression smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a suitable range of trend vocabulary, including “considerable growth,” “downward trend,” “peaked,” and “remained,” which helps describe the graph clearly. Some less common choices are attempted, but several collocations or word forms are inaccurate: “number of employments” is not natural for this context, and “reaching to 16” should be expressed differently. There are also spelling slips such as “miilion,” “unchaged,” “reamined,” and “agriclture.” These do not prevent understanding, but they reduce precision and control. Prefer standard chart language such as “number of jobs,” “employment,” “rose to,” and “fell to,” and proofread carefully for spelling.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and more complex forms, including the overview sentence linking two trends and the contrast between manufacturing and agriculture. Most meanings remain clear, but some sentence structures and punctuation need more control. For example, “Retail started with 6 million in 1960 continued to grow” joins clauses without a suitable connector, and “after peak in 1980” is missing an article. In “The figure then remained unchaged before further falling,” the structure is awkward; a clearer form would be “remained unchanged before falling further.” Capitalisation after full stops is also inconsistent, as in “notably.” More accurate clause joining, articles, and sentence boundaries would strengthen the range already attempted.

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