Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The linear graph illustrates about the amount of jobs in four sectors ( Manufacturing, Retail, Agriculture and Healthcare ) of the economy in the US from 1960 to 2020.

In 1960, 15 million jobs of Manufacturing sector were availabled on US, Which were rose up at 20 millions till 1980 and then decreased and about to 12.5 million were left in 2020.

While in Healthcare, about 2 million jobs were availabled for the economy of US, which increased rapidly. And in 2020 about 16 million jobs were avaialable.

In Agriculture sector about 6 million jobs were availabled in the US and then drop in 1980 where about 2.5 million job left and then stabled till 2000 with about 2.5 million of employments. But from 2020 it drop slightly and only about 2 million jobs were availabled in 2020.

In 1960, About 6 million jobs in Retail sector, which increased rapidly till 2000 with 15 million of jobs in the US and then rose up sligtly and in 2020 about 16 million jobs were availabled in the US.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You report all four sectors and identify several relevant movements, including manufacturing’s rise to 1980 followed by decline, and the strong growth in healthcare and retail. However, the response lacks a clear overview of the main comparisons, such as manufacturing starting highest while healthcare and retail catch up, and healthcare and retail both reaching about 16 million by 2020. Some details are inaccurate or unclear: agriculture was about 3 million in both 1980 and 2000, not 2.5 million, and manufacturing was about 13 million in 2020 rather than 12.5 million. The account is mainly a sequence of individual figures, with limited synthesis of the graph’s key features. Add a concise overview and check figures against the chart.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a generally understandable order: it introduces the graph and then describes manufacturing, healthcare, agriculture and retail in separate sections. Time markers such as “In 1960,” “till 1980” and “in 2020” help readers follow changes. However, there is no distinct overview paragraph, and the sector-by-sector sequence does not build a clear comparison across the whole period. Several sentences begin in similar ways, and connectors such as “While” and “And” are used mechanically or awkwardly. For stronger progression, group related trends—for example, the rising sectors together—and use a brief overview before the detailed figures. Clearer links between comparisons would make the organisation feel less like a list.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “increased rapidly,” “decreased,” “drop” and “jobs,” so the main trends are usually understandable. However, the range is limited and some word choices or collocations are noticeably inaccurate: “availabled” is not a correct form, “rose up” is unnatural for a graph trend, and “stabled” should be expressed as “remained stable.” Spelling slips such as “avaialable” and “sligtly” also reduce accuracy. Repetition of “jobs were available” makes the description less precise. Build a small set of accurate trend expressions—such as “employment stood at,” “fell to,” and “levelled off”—and check spelling and word forms during editing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt some longer sentences with relative clauses, for example, “which increased rapidly,” and use past-tense forms to describe the historical data. However, the range of sentence structures is limited, and errors occur frequently enough to make parts of the account awkward. Examples include “15 million jobs … were availabled on US,” “Which were rose up,” and “then drop in 1980,” where verb forms and sentence construction are faulty. There are also problems with articles, prepositions and punctuation, including inconsistent capitalisation after commas and spaces before parentheses. Practise forming accurate past-tense clauses and use a mix of simple and compound sentences; proofread each sentence for a clear subject and correctly formed verb.

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