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 provides information about the number of employment in four diiferent sectors in the US from 1960 to 2020. Overall, it is apparent that number of jobs in manufacturing sector was maximum and then dropped slightly with time duration while the jobsin retail and healthcare department increased significantly over time period.

Firstly, the number of jobs in manufacturing sectors was at 15 million and then employment improved slightly to 20 million after that it went down steadily. In addition, the number of positions in production area reached to approximately 13 million in 2020. While the number of jobs in agriculture sector was at just above the 5 million in 1960 and then decreased with the time duration and reached nearly to 4 million positions in 1980. After that jobs remained same for two decades and then decreased slightly to approximately 2 million jobs in 2020.

Secondly, the number of positions were nearly 6 million in 1960 and then increased steadily with the passage of time it reached to 15 million positions in 2000 and then slightly went up approximately 16 million in 2020. Futhermore, healthcare was least popular in 1960 the number of positions surged to 16 million in 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover all four sectors and identify the main broad patterns: manufacturing rises before declining, agriculture falls, and retail and healthcare grow. The overview is relevant, but saying manufacturing “was maximum” throughout is not accurate: it peaked in 1980, and by 2020 retail and healthcare had both reached about 16 million, above manufacturing at roughly 13 million. Some details are also unclear or imprecise; for example, agriculture was about 3 million in 1980, not nearly 4 million, and healthcare’s rise is not described at the intermediate points. To strengthen the response, make the overview more precise and compare the sectors at key dates, especially their changing rankings by 2020.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an opening overview followed by two detail paragraphs, and “Firstly” and “Secondly” signal a move through the data. However, the grouping is not fully clear: the first detail paragraph combines manufacturing and agriculture, while the second shifts from retail to healthcare without a clear comparison or consistent organising principle. Some links are mechanical, and the long sentence beginning “While the number of jobs in agriculture…” makes the sequence of changes harder to follow. Organise the details by related trends—for example, declining sectors and growing sectors—and use clearer sentence boundaries and references so each comparison is easy to track.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “decreased,” “increased steadily,” “surged,” and “positions,” so the main trends are generally understandable. However, several choices are unnatural or imprecise for describing a graph: “number of employment,” “jobsin,” “employment improved,” and “healthcare department” do not express the data naturally. “Maximum” also overstates manufacturing’s position across the whole period. Spelling slips such as “diiferent” and “Futhermore” reduce accuracy. Aim for precise, conventional collocations and avoid changing labels unnecessarily; terms such as “number of jobs,” “rose,” “fell,” and “sector” will make the report clearer and more controlled.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, using time clauses and connectors such as “while,” “after that,” and “then.” The overall meaning is usually clear, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “the number of jobs in manufacturing sectors was” has a number-agreement and article problem, while “the number of positions were” should use a singular verb. The phrase “reached to approximately 13 million” also has an incorrect verb pattern, and several sentences join multiple stages with commas or run on, particularly the retail description. Check subject–verb agreement, articles, and verb patterns, and divide long sequences into shorter sentences while retaining some varied structures.

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