Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

The line graph illustrates the account of employement in four economic areas of US from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, a growth is observered in three departments and a decline is noticed in the remaining one over the span of 60 years.

Initially, the manufacturing, retail and healthcare experienced a steady growth between 1960 and 1980. The number of jobs spiked from 15 million to 20 million in manufacturing reaching its peak. Similarly, the healthcare rose from quarter a million to 5 million and the retail grew from nearly 5 million to 10 million. The only line of business which decreased is the agriculture, dropping from 5 million to nearly quarter a million.

Afterwards, from year 1980 to 2020 a decline was seen in manufacturing eventually dropping down approximately to 13 million. The retail and healthcare however peaked around 15 million. On the other hand there is no drastic change in the agriculture sector which kept it position around quarter a million for the rest of the time period.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the broad pattern correctly: manufacturing rises to a high point and then declines, while agriculture falls overall. You also include relevant figures for the early period. However, the overview is incomplete and partly inaccurate: retail does not grow throughout the whole period, and healthcare and retail both finish at about 16 million, rather than simply peaking around 15 million. The later-period account also misses the important contrast that healthcare continues to rise sharply after 1980, while retail grows more gradually. Agriculture is described as remaining around a quarter of a million, although it is about 3 million in 1980 and 2000 and 2 million in 2020. A more precise overview and fuller reporting of the later trends would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response has a clear overall structure, with an introduction, an overview and two paragraphs describing the data. The progression from the 1960–1980 period to the later years is easy to follow, and linking phrases such as “Similarly,” “Afterwards” and “On the other hand” help signal comparisons. This clear organisation is a strength. Some connections between the data and the time periods could be more precise, however: “The retail and healthcare however peaked around 15 million” compresses two different trends and does not clearly show when each reached its final level. The overview also says three sectors grew, which is not true across the full period. Grouping the later trends by sector and using clearer references to 2000 and 2020 would make the progression more exact.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a reasonable range of vocabulary for describing trends, including “spiked,” “peak,” “dropping” and “decline,” and the meaning is generally clear. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “over the span of 60 years.” However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for this task. “The account of employment” is not a natural way to introduce a graph, and “departments” and “line of business” are imprecise labels for economic sectors. “A growth is observed” is also awkward, while “quarter a million” gives a seriously incorrect scale for the chart’s values. Spelling errors such as “employement” and “observered” further limit accuracy. Prefer standard chart language and check that numerical expressions match the data.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and more complex structures, including a contrast clause in “The retail and healthcare however peaked…” and a relative clause in “which kept it position.” Most sentences remain understandable, and the time sequence is generally conveyed. Some grammatical errors persist, though. The opening sentence needs a more natural article and preposition pattern (“in the US”), and “a growth” is not correctly formed in “a growth is observed.” There are also tense and agreement inconsistencies: “The only line … which decreased is” shifts tense, while “the healthcare rose” and “the retail grew” use awkward article patterns. In “which kept it position,” the possessive should be “its.” More consistent past-tense reporting and careful checking of articles, agreement and possessives would improve control.

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