Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 depicts the number of jobs in millions in four different sectors of the economy in the US from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, the number of jobs in retail and Healthcare sector increased while in manufacturing and agriculture sector it decreased.

In 1960,the highest number if jobs available was in manufacturing sector with 15 millions.After 20 years it increased drastically to 20 million jobs before decreasing significantly to 13 millions jobs in 2020.However in retail sector,jobs increased from 6 millions in 1960 to 15 millions in 2000,respectively.

In healthcare sector,the least jobs were available around 2 millions,which tose slightly to 5 millions by 1980.Afterthat,it increased drastically tover 15 millions by 2020.In contrast, agriculture sector had the same number of jobs as retail sector in initial year ,decreased to almost 2 millions before gradual dip in 1980 by 3 millions and remain least sector with jobs over the period.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the chart’s subject and give a broad overview, noting that retail and healthcare rise while manufacturing and agriculture fall. You also report several relevant figures, including manufacturing’s peak of 20 million in 1980 and healthcare’s initial level of about 2 million. However, coverage is partial and some details are inaccurate or unclear: retail reaches 16 million in 2020, but its final value is omitted, and agriculture falls from 6 million to 3 million by 1980, then to 2 million by 2020—not the sequence described. The overview also misses the key comparison that retail and healthcare both finish at about 16 million. Select the main turning points and end-point comparisons more accurately to make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and two detail paragraphs. This gives the reader a basic route through the information, and phrases such as “Overall” and “In contrast” signal relationships between trends. However, progression within the detail paragraphs is uneven. The retail sentence stops at 2000, while the agriculture sentence gives events in a confusing order, making the timeline difficult to follow. Some linking expressions, including “respectively,” do not clearly connect the figures being compared. Grouping the sectors by similar trends or describing each series consistently from 1960 to 2020 would improve the logical flow. Clearer sentence boundaries and more precise references would also make the organisation easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “increased,” “decreased,” “sector,” and “number of jobs,” so the topic is generally clear. There are also attempts at stronger trend language, such as “increased drastically” and “decreasing significantly.” However, the range is limited and some choices are inaccurate or awkward: “jobs available” is less precise than “jobs,” and “gradual dip” does not describe agriculture’s fall from 6 million to 3 million by 1980. Spelling errors such as “tose” and “tover” also reduce accuracy. Aim for precise, varied verbs such as “rose,” “declined,” “peaked,” and “levelled off,” and check spelling and collocations before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast structure beginning “while” and a relative clause in “which tose slightly.” The meaning is usually recoverable, but errors are frequent enough to make some sentences difficult to read. Examples include “the number of jobs … increased while … it decreased,” where the subject and verb structure is not balanced, and “agriculture sector … decreased … and remain,” which has inconsistent verb forms. Articles and plurals are also often missing or incorrect, as in “in retail sector” and “15 millions.” Punctuation spacing is inconsistent, with several sentences running directly into the next. Practise accurate past-tense reporting, singular/plural forms, and sentence boundaries.

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