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 graphs shows the millions number of jobs in four different sectors of the economy in the United States from 1960 to 2020. The most number of jobs provider in 1960 was the manufacturing sector whereas the least was healthcare. The retail and agricultrals sectors had the same number of jobs in 1960. As the time progress, all sectors have seen the significant increase in providing opportunities to workers except agricultaral. It remains almost steady in their number of providing jobs. However, the retail and healthcare sector does the wond we have notice a great increase in number of jobs until 2020. Both sectors started from around 5 millions jobs in 1960 and in 2020 it has been 16 millions jobs. This is a great progress in terms of numbers. Whereas, the manufacturing sector started as the most job provider amongst differct sectors of the US economy in 1960 it continues to rise until 1980 but after that there is decrease in number of jobs.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several relevant features, including manufacturing as the largest sector in 1960, healthcare as the smallest, and manufacturing’s rise to 1980 followed by decline. However, the overview is incomplete and some key details are inaccurate. Retail and agriculture both had about 6 million jobs in 1960, but healthcare began at about 2 million, not around 5 million; only retail and healthcare reached about 16 million by 2020. Agriculture did not remain steady throughout: it fell from about 6 million to 3 million by 1980, stayed level to 2000, then declined to about 2 million. Covering these changes accurately and comparing the sectors more fully would make the summary more complete and developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response follows a broadly understandable sequence, moving from the starting figures to later trends, and linking words such as “whereas,” “however” and “after that” help signal comparisons and change. However, the information is presented as one continuous paragraph, so the overview and supporting details are not clearly separated. Some links are also awkward or unclear: “the retail and healthcare sector does the wond” interrupts the progression, and “Both sectors started from around 5 millions jobs” makes the comparison difficult to follow. Organise the response into a brief overview followed by grouped details, and use clear references to each sector so the reader can track the trends more easily.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing data, including “increase,” “remains almost steady,” “decrease” and “job provider.” This gives the reader a basic sense of the trends. However, the range is limited and several word choices, collocations and spelling errors reduce precision, such as “millions number,” “most number of jobs provider,” “agricultrals” and “differct.” The phrase “does the wond” is unclear and appears to obscure the intended meaning. Aim for standard chart language and check spelling carefully; terms such as “number of jobs,” “employment,” “rose,” “declined” and “remained stable” would help you describe the data more accurately and naturally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and longer sentences, including comparisons and time clauses, as in “it continues to rise until 1980 but after that there is decrease.” The main trends are generally understandable, but errors occur frequently in agreement, tense, articles and plural forms. For example, “The line graphs shows” should have a singular subject or plural verb, while “the retail and healthcare sector does” has a plural subject that requires a plural verb. “As the time progress” and “it has been 16 millions jobs” also show problems with verb form and tense. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and sentence patterns such as “the number of jobs rose to…” to make your comparisons clearer.

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.