Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-20

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 graph illustrates the number of Jobs in four sectors of the economy in the US between 1960 and 2020. The four sectors are Manufacturing, retail, Agriculture and healthcare.

Overall, two sectors such as retail and healthcare jobs industries consistently growing up since 1960 to 2020.

In 1960 retail jobs around 6 millions, followed in 1980 and 2000 increased double and reached their peak in 2020 at 15 millions. Following Healthcare Jobs, from 3 millions in 1960, growing up steadily at 5 millions in 1980 and more than 10 millions in 2000, then got the highest in 2020 at 16 millions jobs.

Meanwhile manufacturing jobs in 1960 about 15 millions job and a bit increased in 1980 at 20 millions and getting the lowest about 13 millions jobs in 2020.

Agriculture Jobs decreased significantly from 6 millions in 1960 and stayed steady at 3 millions in 1980 to 2000, then reached the lowest under 3 millions in 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify all four sectors and report the main broad patterns: retail and healthcare rise, manufacturing peaks before declining, and agriculture falls. However, some figures are inaccurate: healthcare starts at about 2 million, not 3 million, and retail reaches about 16 million in 2020 rather than 15 million. The overview also misses the key comparison that retail and healthcare finish at roughly the same level, while manufacturing remains higher than agriculture throughout. The response is 141 words, below the 150-word minimum; the 17 words copied from the prompt are excluded. Add a little more precise comparison and detail to complete the summary more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, a brief overview, and separate discussion of the rising sectors and the declining sectors. “Overall” and “Meanwhile” help signal the shift between trends, so the reader can follow the main points. Some connections are less clear or mechanical, however. For example, “Following Healthcare Jobs” does not clearly link the healthcare figures to the preceding retail description, and “In 1960 retail jobs…” begins abruptly without a clear transition. Grouping the two rising sectors in one paragraph and the two falling or fluctuating sectors in another, with clearer linking phrases, would make the progression smoother and the comparisons more explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “sectors,” “consistently,” “steadily,” “peak,” and “decreased significantly,” which helps describe the graph’s trends. The range is sufficient to communicate the main information, but several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or repetitive. “Jobs industries” is unclear, “growing up” is not the natural phrase for a rising figure, and “got the highest” is imprecise. Capitalisation is also inconsistent in terms such as “Jobs,” “retail,” and “healthcare.” Choose standard graph language such as “employment,” “rose,” “reached a peak,” and “stood at,” and use it consistently to make descriptions more precise and natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences with time references, and the overall meaning is generally understandable. However, a number of sentence structures and verb forms are faulty, which limits accuracy. For example, “two sectors … consistently growing up” lacks a finite verb, while “in 1980 and 2000 increased double” has no clear subject and an incomplete verb construction. “Following Healthcare Jobs, from 3 millions in 1960, growing up steadily” is also a fragment. There are recurring problems with articles, plurals, and agreement, as in “6 millions” and “15 millions job.” Practise complete subject–verb sentences and accurate past-tense forms, for example, “Retail employment rose from 6 million in 1960 to 16 million in 2020.”

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