Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The graph gives the data of the economy about the jobs in four catagories in the US since 1960 to 2020.Overall, the manufacturing sector has more economy for jobs than others but the agriculture was gradullay decrease and it become least in 2020.

From the graph, the manufacturing has 20 million jobs in 1980 then it became 13 million in 2020.Secondly, the retail economy were gradually increase in jobs from 6 millions to 16 millions since 1960 to 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You identify two relevant features: manufacturing reaches its high point in 1980, and retail rises from 6 million to 16 million jobs. However, the response addresses the task only minimally. The overview says manufacturing had more jobs than the other sectors overall, but this misses the important change that retail and healthcare both reach about 16 million by 2020, matching and overtaking manufacturing. Agriculture’s decline is noted, though its figures and the healthcare trend are not reported. The response also contains only 79 words, below the required 150, leaving the summary substantially incomplete. To improve, include a fuller overview and compare all four sectors at key dates, using accurate figures.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is a basic structure: an opening sentence, an overview beginning with “Overall,” and a short detail paragraph introduced by “From the graph.” The ideas are generally understandable, and “Secondly” signals another sector. However, the response is too brief to develop a clear progression across the graph, and the details are limited to manufacturing and retail. The linking words do not establish meaningful comparisons between sectors or periods, while the run-together punctuation in “2020.Overall” and “2020.Secondly” interrupts the flow. Organise the report into a clear introduction, overview, and two detail groups, and use links such as “by contrast” or “while” to connect trends accurately.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant task vocabulary, including “manufacturing sector,” “agriculture,” “retail,” and “million jobs,” so the main subject is usually identifiable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or forms are inaccurate: “the economy about the jobs” is unclear, “more economy for jobs” does not express the intended comparison, and “catagories” and “gradullay” are misspelled. “The agriculture was gradually decrease” also shows difficulty selecting the correct form of the trend phrase. Use precise chart language such as “number of jobs,” “employment,” “rose,” “declined,” and “remained stable.” Check spelling and collocations, and avoid repeating “jobs” where a clear reference to a sector or figure would suffice.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response includes simple statements and an attempt at a longer sentence, but the range of structures is limited and errors recur. For example, “the agriculture was gradullay decrease” has an incorrect verb construction, while “the retail economy were gradually increase” has problems with agreement and verb form. The phrase “from 6 millions to 16 millions since 1960 to 2020” also has inaccurate plural and preposition patterns. Sentence boundaries are not consistently marked, as in “2020.Overall.” These errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the broad trends, but they reduce accuracy. Practise past-tense reporting and patterns such as “rose from 6 million to 16 million between 1960 and 2020,” alongside accurate punctuation.

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