Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The line graph clearly illustrates the number of employment in four field ,namely manufacturing ,Retail ,Agriculture and Healthcare of the financial system in the US ,Between 1960 and 2020 and the number has been major in millions. Overall the line graph reveals significant variation in the different jobs sectors of the US economy its over the 80 years period.

As far as manufacturing is concerned we can See that employment are rose gradually around 20millions in staring 20 decades and after that dropped considerably or job sectors remain same between 1980 to 2020. However in the began of retail field the almost jumped from 5millions to 15millinos in 40 decades and the number are same between 2000 and 2020.

Referring to agriculture ,the lowest figure in the chart the of jobs are reduced significantly from 1960 until 2020. Whereas the healthcare number of job are rocketed from 3millions to 15millions, during 60 decades.

To sum up it quite interesting not that the of number of employment in four sectors mention in chart it was major variation of US economy , from 1960 until 2020. However , Manufacturing top the table in this respect .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify all four sectors and describe several broad trends, including manufacturing’s rise and later decline, agriculture’s overall fall, and strong growth in healthcare. However, some key details are inaccurate or unclear: manufacturing did not remain stable after 1980, but fell from about 20 million to 13 million; retail rose to around 16 million by 2020 rather than staying unchanged after 2000; and healthcare increased from about 2 million to 16 million, not from 3 million to 15 million. The overview also says manufacturing remained at the top, although healthcare and retail were joint leaders in 2020. More accurate comparisons and a clearer summary of the ending positions would make the report more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, paragraphs describing groups of sectors, and a concluding sentence. This gives the reader a general route through the information, and transitions such as “As far as manufacturing is concerned” and “Referring to agriculture” help signal topic changes. However, the progression is weakened by unclear or repetitive phrasing, especially in the opening and conclusion, and some comparisons are difficult to follow because several trends are compressed into long sentences. The final “To sum up” repeats the overview rather than adding a useful comparison. Grouping the sectors more deliberately and using clearer links between their changes would improve cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing trends, including “dropped considerably,” “reduced significantly,” and “rocketed,” and you identify the sectors by name. However, the range is limited and several choices or collocations are inaccurate, which sometimes makes the meaning difficult to interpret. For example, “the number has been major in millions” and “the number are same” do not express the intended data clearly; “financial system” is also not an appropriate description of the economy. Spelling and word-form errors such as “staring,” “millinos,” and “employment” used where “jobs” is intended further reduce precision. Choose standard chart language and check spelling and collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, using clauses introduced by “However” and “Whereas,” and the reader can usually identify the broad trends being discussed. However, errors are frequent and sometimes make relationships between ideas unclear. Examples include “employment are rose,” “the number are same,” and “the healthcare number of job are rocketed,” where verb forms and subject–verb agreement are faulty. Articles, plurals, and sentence construction are also inconsistent, as in “in the began of retail field” and “the lowest figure in the chart the of jobs.” Punctuation and spacing around commas are uneven. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and build shorter, complete sentences before adding more complex clauses.

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