Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-24

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)

This line chart illustrates the information about the number of jobs in four sectors of the economy in the US between 1960 and 2020.

Overall, this chart describe the number jobs in the verious sectors in US from 1960 to 2020. In 1960 manufacturing and agriculture was the largest jobs holding sectors in the US. But in 2020 healthcare and retail are the leading job holder as comparied to the other two sectors.

At first, manufacturing and agriculture was the highest number of jobs holder sectors since 1960 to 1980 in US. In manufacturiing sector there was 15 million people work and this number was increases in 1980 up to 20 million workers work in that sector. Agriculture was on the second number 5.3 milliion farmer jobs in the US.

In 1980 there was the time when healthcare and retail sectors improved in US. Lots of people shows intrust these sectors in United States of an America. In 1980 the number of jobs in retail sector was 10 million and in healthcare 5 million. But later on both sectors hit 15.2 million jobs in the year of 2020. This was the bigest economy bost for the US.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You provide an overview that identifies the broad shift from manufacturing and agriculture toward retail and healthcare, and you include several relevant figures, such as manufacturing rising from 15 million to 20 million by 1980. However, the account is only partial: agriculture’s decline after 1960 is not described, and manufacturing’s fall after its peak is omitted. Some details are inaccurate or unclear: agriculture is about 6 million in 1960, not 5.3 million, and retail and healthcare reach about 16 million each in 2020, rather than 15.2 million. The claim that manufacturing and agriculture were the highest sectors through 1980 also overlooks retail’s growth. Covering the full period and reporting the main changes more accurately would make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview and two detail paragraphs, and the time references help readers follow the account. However, progression is uneven: the first detail paragraph focuses on 1960–1980, while the second jumps from 1980 to 2020 without explaining the intervening trends. Some linking is mechanical or unclear, particularly “But later on” and “This was the biggest economy boost,” which does not clearly connect to the figures. The overview also repeats the introduction’s time span rather than setting out the main trends precisely. Organise the details by sector or by period, and use clearer comparisons to connect changes across the years.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant task vocabulary, including “sectors,” “manufacturing,” “retail,” and “healthcare,” and attempt phrases such as “leading job holder.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, making parts of the report difficult to interpret. For example, “largest jobs holding sectors” and “second number” are not natural ways to describe employment levels, while “people shows intrust these sectors” does not clearly express a trend in job numbers. Spelling errors such as “verious,” “manufacturiing,” and “bigest” are also noticeable. Use precise chart language such as “employment,” “the number of jobs,” “rose,” and “declined,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, and the overall meaning can usually be followed. However, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently in basic sentence patterns, agreement and verb forms. For instance, “this chart describe” needs subject–verb agreement, while “manufacturing and agriculture was” should use a plural verb. The phrase “there was 15 million people work” has an incorrect construction; a clearer form is “15 million people worked in manufacturing.” Tense use is also inconsistent when describing past data, as in “are the leading job holder.” Practise accurate past-tense reporting and build longer sentences around clear subjects and verbs, checking agreement and articles.

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