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 given line graph illustrates the information about the number of jobs in four sectors of the economy in the US between 1960 and 2020.
Overall, the highest number of jobs is in the manufacturing sector, and the lowest number of jobs is in the agriculture sector. The fastest-growing sector is healthcare.
Manufacturing has the highest number of employees, 20 million, until 2000, then decreases throughout 2020. Retail and agriculture have the same number of jobs in 1960, while retail is increasing and agriculture is decreasing throughout the period. Retail has employees more than 5 million at the starting and the rising through more than 15 million throughout 2020.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
You identify the broad pattern that manufacturing is initially the largest sector and agriculture the smallest, and you note healthcare’s strong growth. However, the overview is not fully accurate: manufacturing is not the largest throughout, since retail and healthcare both reach about 16 million jobs by 2020, above manufacturing at about 13 million. The detail that manufacturing reaches 20 million applies to 1980, not the whole period up to 2000. The comparison of retail and agriculture at the start is relevant, but several key changes and end-point comparisons are omitted or unclear. The response is also 90 words, below the required 150, so the task is only partially covered; the 19 words copied from the prompt are excluded from that count.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The response has a basic, sensible structure: an introduction, an overview, and a paragraph with selected details. This helps the reader identify the topic and the main sectors being discussed. However, progression is limited because the final paragraph combines several comparisons without clearly organising them by period or sector. For example, the statements about retail and agriculture move from their 1960 figures to later trends, then back to retail’s starting and ending levels. The repeated use of “number of jobs” and “throughout” also makes the links feel mechanical, and the final sentence is difficult to follow. Grouping the main changes chronologically and using clearer comparisons would make the information easier to track.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use relevant vocabulary for describing a graph, including “illustrates,” “sector,” “increasing,” “decreases,” and “fastest-growing.” These choices make the subject clear, and the range is adequate for a short report. However, some expressions are repetitive or imprecise: “number of jobs” and “employees” are repeated, while “rising through more than 15 million” does not express the trend naturally. “The highest number of jobs is in” is also less precise than describing a sector as having the most jobs. Aim for more accurate collocations and varied terms such as “employment,” “rose to,” and “declined to,” while ensuring that the wording matches the figures.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
Most sentences communicate a basic meaning, and you attempt both simple statements and a longer sentence using “while.” However, the range of sentence structures is limited, and some tense and sentence-construction choices reduce clarity. In the overview, “the highest number of jobs is” uses a present-tense form for a graph covering a past period; consistent past-tense reporting would be more suitable. The sentence beginning “Manufacturing has the highest number of employees, 20 million, until 2000” is awkwardly constructed and does not clearly show when the peak occurred. The final sentence also lacks a clear grammatical link between “has employees more than 5 million” and “the rising.” Use complete, clearly linked clauses and maintain consistent past tense.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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