Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-22

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 display the detail about numbe of jobs(in millions) in different sectors of the US economy from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, at the begining of the period the manufacturing is leading sector about 15 millions employers, and it reach its peak in 1980, but delined after reaching its peak.In 1960 the agriculture showed the steadily downwards to the end of period, its peak is approxmatilly 6 millions and at the end of term it felt to 3 millions.

In 1960, the retial and healthcare sector provide around about 9 millions employers, from 1980 onward both job sector is growing to its peak. At the end of this period in 2020 these both jobs reach its peak approxmatilly 16 millions.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the overall dominance of manufacturing at the start and its peak in 1980, and you note the later growth of retail and healthcare. However, several key details are inaccurate or unclear: agriculture falls from about 6 million to about 2 million jobs by 2020, not 3 million, and retail and healthcare were not both around 9 million in 1960; their figures were about 6 million and 2 million respectively. The overview also misses the important comparison that healthcare and retail both finish at roughly 16 million, while manufacturing declines and agriculture remains lowest. The response is 29 words below the required minimum, which limits the detail available. Include a clearer overview and accurate comparisons across the period.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic paragraph structure, with an introduction, an overview and a final paragraph describing other sectors. This gives the reader some organisation, and phrases such as “Overall” and “At the end of this period” signal stages in the report. However, the progression is not consistently clear: the overview combines manufacturing and agriculture, then the final paragraph groups retail and healthcare without distinguishing their very different starting points. Some links are awkward or repetitive, including “from 1980 onward both job sector is growing to its peak.” Use one paragraph for the main overview and organise the details by meaningful trends, while using clear comparisons and references to avoid grouping unlike figures.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant task vocabulary, including “peak,” “sector,” and “period,” and the reader can generally identify the trends you intend to describe. However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation and spelling errors make the report less clear. For example, “15 millions employers” is not an appropriate way to describe the number of jobs, while “the agriculture showed the steadily downwards” is difficult to interpret. There are also misspellings such as “begining,” “delined,” and “approxmatilly.” Practise accurate forms such as “employment,” “jobs,” “declined,” and “approximately,” and use trend phrases like “fell steadily” or “rose to a peak” naturally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts both simple and longer sentence forms, including a sentence that contrasts manufacturing’s peak with its subsequent decline. However, errors are frequent, and some sentences are difficult to follow. The opening “The line graph display” has subject–verb disagreement, while “it reach its peak” and “it felt to 3 millions” contain incorrect verb forms. Articles and number agreement are also problematic in “the manufacturing is leading sector” and “both job sector is growing.” Aim first for accurate simple sentences, then build longer comparisons with controlled clauses. Check that subjects and verbs agree, use past tense consistently for the historical data, and form plurals correctly.

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