Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The line graph illustrates the number of jobs in fours sectors of the economy in the US between 1960 and 2020.

Overall, Retail and Healthcare sectors had the highest number of jobs, while Agricultural jobs were the lowest, by 2020.

In terms of jobs, the highest number of jobs were recorded at manufacturing sector, at 15 million, whereas retail and agricultural jobs held the same number, at 5 million, in 1960. In contrast, the number of jobs at healthcare sector were quite lower, at about 2.5 million, in the same year. Agricultural jobs experienced a decline, at approximately 3 million, while healthcare, retail and manufacturing jobs increased and rose to 5 million, 10 million and 20 million, respectively, between 1960 and 1980.

By 2000, agricultural jobs remained stable, at about 3 million, whereas healthcare and retail jobs increased and climbed to approximately 12 million and 15 million, respectively. However, the figure fell to about 17 million for manufacturing sector in the same year and further decreased to about 13 million between 2000 and 2020. Agricultural jobs also felt a slight decline in number of jobs, at 2 million, while retail and healthcare jobs rose to about 16 million, over the period.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main broad patterns: manufacturing peaks in 1980 and then declines, agriculture falls overall, and retail and healthcare rise. The response also includes comparisons across the four sectors and covers the full period. However, the overview is not fully accurate: it says retail and healthcare had the highest number of jobs “by 2020,” but they were tied at about 16 million, rather than clearly ranking above the others. Several figures are also misreported, including retail and agriculture at 5 million in 1960 (both were about 6 million), and healthcare at 12 million in 2000 (about 11 million). A more precise overview and closer checking of key values would make the report more complete and clear.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, a brief overview, and two paragraphs describing changes over time. The chronological progression from 1960–1980 to 2000–2020 is easy to follow, and linking expressions such as “In contrast,” “By 2000,” and “whereas” help signal comparisons. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. For example, “Agricultural jobs experienced a decline, at approximately 3 million, while healthcare, retail and manufacturing jobs increased” compresses several changes into one sentence, making the starting and ending values harder to track. The final sentence also combines agriculture’s decline with the increases in two other sectors. Grouping related trends more deliberately and using clearer references would strengthen the progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use an adequate range of task-appropriate vocabulary, including “decline,” “remained stable,” “increased,” and “further decreased,” and the meaning is generally clear. There is also some variation in how changes are described, such as “climbed” and “rose.” However, several phrases are repetitive or imprecise: “the number of jobs” appears repeatedly, and “the highest number of jobs were recorded at manufacturing sector” is an awkward collocation. “Agricultural jobs also felt a slight decline” uses an unsuitable verb, while “held the same number” is less natural than a direct comparison. More precise chart language and more natural collocations would improve flexibility and accuracy while preserving the clear meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentences, including clauses with “whereas,” “while,” and “although”-type contrasts, and most sentences communicate the intended trends. Some grammatical errors remain. For example, “the highest number of jobs were recorded” has a singular subject (“number”) and should take “was”; “at manufacturing sector” needs an article; and “the number of jobs at healthcare sector were” has both an article omission and subject–verb disagreement. The phrase “between 2000 and 2020” is also attached to a sentence whose final figure is not clearly linked to that period. Review agreement, articles before sector names, and sentence boundaries when combining several data points. These corrections would make the varied structures more consistently controlled.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.