Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-19

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 compares the employment levels in four sectors of the USA economy in between 1960 and 2000.

Overall, maufacturing was the largest sector for jobs untill 2000, but its figures declined thereafter. Jobs in retail and healthcare sector increased steadily throughout the period, with both becoming the largest job sectors by 2020, while agriculture experienced an overall decline.

Upon closer inspection, from 1960 to 2000, manufacturing sector have held the highest employment level at nearly 16 millions jobs, then it experienced a fall to approximately 14 millions jobs by 2000. Employment in retail and healthcare experienced a similar steady rise throughout the period and both ended up being the largest sectors with providing just above 15 millions jobs by 2020.

Regarding the jobs in agriculture sector, although in 1960 this sector started at a same level as retail with around 6 millions job, it experienced a fall to approximately 4 millions job in 1980. From 1980 to 2000, jobs in agriculture sector remained steady before declining to just above 1 millions jobs by the end of the period, making it the least employment sector in the US economy.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main broad patterns: manufacturing rises before falling, retail and healthcare grow, and agriculture declines to the lowest level. However, the time span is misstated in the introduction as ending in 2000, and the overview says manufacturing declined after 2000, although the chart shows its fall beginning after 1980. Some figures and comparisons are also inaccurate: manufacturing is about 17 million in 2000, not 14 million, and retail and healthcare do not both become the largest sectors by 2020; they finish at roughly 16 million each. The account of agriculture is broadly accurate. To strengthen the response, report the full period consistently and distinguish the sectors’ different trajectories more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and two detail paragraphs, with the agriculture figures separated from the other sectors. Sequencing phrases such as “Overall,” “Upon closer inspection,” and “Regarding” help signal the stages of the report. This coherent structure meets the expected standard, though some links are mechanical and the progression is weakened by inconsistent time references: the introduction ends at 2000, while later details refer to 2020. The sentence about retail and healthcare also combines their rise and final position in a way that obscures the comparison. Use more precise transitions and organise the details around clear time points or contrasting sector trends.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use an adequate range of task-relevant vocabulary, including “employment levels,” “experienced a fall,” “remained steady,” and “overall decline.” These choices make the main trends understandable, and some phrasing shows an attempt to vary expression. However, several word forms, spellings, and collocations reduce precision: “maufacturing” and “untill” are misspelled, “millions jobs” is not idiomatic, and “the least employment sector” is an awkward description. “Largest” is also used imprecisely when describing the two sectors at the end. Aim for accurate forms such as “million jobs,” “the sector with the fewest jobs,” and “jointly the largest,” where appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including a concessive clause beginning “although” and a time clause introduced by “From 1980 to 2000.” Most sentences remain understandable, and the errors do not generally prevent the reader from following the trends. Some grammatical inaccuracies persist, however: “manufacturing sector have held” has incorrect agreement and tense, while “in between 1960 and 2000” and “at a same level” show problems with prepositions and articles. The long sentence beginning “Employment in retail and healthcare…” also has an awkward construction around “with providing.” Review subject–verb agreement, article use, and sentence patterns after “with”; more consistently accurate complex sentences would improve control.

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