Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The line graph displays the data about the amount of jobs in the US in four distinct sectors of the economy from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, the trends of manufacturing and and agriculture sector shows a graduall declined while the other two sector shows an upward trend.

The manufacturing sector starts with highest jobs of 15 million in 1960 and increased gradually till 1980 and reached its peak with 20 million jobs, however, then fall significantly to approximately 13 million at the end of 2020. In contrast, the agriculture starts from around 6 million in 1980 and the declined continously and reached approximately to 2 million in 2020.

In 1960, both the healthcare and retail starts lower than the 7 milion and increased gradually over the period and rea

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the main contrast between manufacturing and agriculture, which decline overall, and retail and healthcare, which rise. You also report manufacturing’s peak at 20 million in 1980 and its fall to about 13 million by 2020. However, the response is incomplete: the final sentence breaks off at “rea”, so the later trends for retail and healthcare are not actually summarised. There is also a factual error: agriculture begins at about 6 million in 1960, not 1980. The overview is useful but broad, and the key comparison that retail and healthcare both reach about 16 million in 2020 is missing. The response is 21 words below the required minimum; develop the unfinished comparison and include the main endpoint figures.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs describing the declining sectors and the rising sectors. Linking expressions such as “Overall” and “In contrast” help signal the main relationships. However, progression is weakened because the final paragraph ends mid-sentence, leaving the account of retail and healthcare unfinished. The manufacturing and agriculture details are grouped together, but the final paragraph does not complete the parallel comparison. Some connections are also awkward, particularly “however, then fall significantly,” where the sequence of contrast and time is unclear. Complete each paragraph and use clear time markers such as “by 1980” and “thereafter” to make the progression easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing trends, including “peak,” “increased,” “declined,” and “upward trend,” so the reader can understand the broad movements. There is some repetition of basic terms such as “jobs,” “sector,” and “increased,” and several word-choice or spelling problems reduce precision: “amount of jobs” is less natural than “number of jobs,” while “graduall” and “continously” are misspelled. “Starts lower than the 7 milion” is also imprecise and difficult to interpret. Aim for accurate, natural collocations and a wider set of trend verbs, such as “rose steadily,” “fell,” and “remained stable.” Proofreading spelling would make your meaning more reliable.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast with “In contrast” and a clause beginning “however.” However, errors are frequent, and some sentence structures are faulty. For example, “the trends … shows” has subject–verb disagreement, while “the agriculture starts from around 6 million in 1980 and the declined” has problems with articles, tense, and clause construction. In “both the healthcare and retail starts,” the plural subject requires a plural verb. The final sentence is incomplete, which also prevents the reader from seeing how the comparison was intended to develop. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and agreement, and check each sentence for a complete subject and verb before adding more complex clauses.

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