Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The line chart below illustrate the number of accupation in four different sectors of the economy in the united state from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, manufacturing sector dominates over all the other sectors in 1960. While the health care sector was the lowest. Till 1980 all the three sectors increased gradualy except the agriculture sector as it goes through a decline in 1980. In 2020 the retail and healthcare sector dominates the trend of providing jobs. While manufacturing and agriculture sector went through a continous decline till 2020.

Manufacturingsector start from providing 15 million jobs an dominates the trend in 1960 which increased to 20 million, its peak in 1980. After that it went through a continous decline. On the other hand, retail sector start from its lowest 6 million in 1960 and increased gradualy and and reaced to the peak of 16 million in 2020.

The agriculture sector start from 6 million and went through a continous deline throughout the years and reached to

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify several important patterns: manufacturing is highest at the start, peaks at about 20 million in 1980, then declines, while retail and healthcare rise and agriculture falls. However, the overview is not fully accurate: healthcare was the lowest in 1960, but agriculture—not manufacturing—declined throughout the period, and healthcare and retail only tie at around 16 million in 2020. The claim that all three non-agricultural sectors increased by 1980 is also imprecise, since manufacturing rose but healthcare and retail did too, while agriculture fell. The report is incomplete: the final sentence stops before giving agriculture’s endpoint, and healthcare receives little detailed coverage. Select the main comparisons accurately and complete the account of all four series.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an introduction and overview to paragraphs about individual sectors. This gives the reader a basic route through the information. However, progression is weakened by repeated statements about decline and growth, and the overview combines several trends in a way that is difficult to follow. Connectors such as “While” and “On the other hand” are sometimes used as sentence openings without a complete, well-balanced contrast. The final agriculture sentence is unfinished, which leaves the report without a clear ending. Organise the details into clearer comparisons—for example, rising sectors together and declining sectors together—and use linking phrases to show how their trajectories differ.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant chart vocabulary, including “peak,” “decline,” “sector,” and “million jobs,” so the reader can generally understand the trends you intend to describe. However, the range is limited and several noticeable spelling and word-choice errors reduce precision, such as “accupation,” “gradualy,” “reaced,” and “deline.” Phrases such as “dominates the trend of providing jobs” are also unnatural and obscure the intended comparison. Use standard forms and more precise collocations for describing figures and changes. For example, say that a sector “employed” a number of people, “rose to a peak,” or “declined steadily,” rather than repeating broad phrases such as “went through a decline.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts some complex structures, including contrasts introduced by “While” and a sentence beginning “After that,” but control is inconsistent. Errors occur frequently in verb forms and agreement: “The line chart … illustrate,” “Manufacturing sector start,” and “which increased” do not consistently match their subjects or the time frame. Articles and sentence boundaries are also problematic, as in “manufacturing sector” and the fragment “While the health care sector was the lowest.” The final sentence is incomplete, ending with “reached to,” which makes the meaning unfinished. These errors sometimes make relationships between ideas harder to follow. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and complete sentences, while retaining a few well-controlled complex comparisons.

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