Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-26

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 6.0)

The line graph illustrates the amount of jobs in million among four areas, namelly manufacturing, retail, agriculture, healthcare in the USA from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, retail and healthcare rose over the period, whereas manufactiring and agriculture declined. By the end of the period, agriculture showed the lowest number of jobs in the figure, while healthcare accounted for the highest number of opportunities, as same as retail.

Retail sector grew considerably from 7 million in 1960 to 15 millon in 2000 before increasing more gradually to 17 million. Healthcare faced the same trend, starting from the lowest in the figure from 2 million and steadly grew in the next 20 years to 5 million, after then it climed more consistantly and grew to 12 million and then 16 million in 2020.

On the other hand, manufacturing start the chart from 15 million in the beginning and after then reached at a peak of 20 million, before dipped to 17 million and continued fall 13 million at the end. Agriculture started from 6 million in 1960, after a drop of 4 million in1980, it showed a nearly consistant amount of jobs until 3 million in 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You give a clear overview of the main contrasts: retail and healthcare rise, while manufacturing and agriculture fall, and you identify agriculture as the smallest sector by 2020. The key trends are generally supported with figures, including manufacturing’s peak at 20 million and healthcare’s growth from 2 million. Some details are inaccurate or imprecise: retail is about 6 million in 1960, not 7, and agriculture falls from 6 to about 3 million by 1980, not by 4 million; it remains near 3 until 2000 before reaching about 2 in 2020. The overview also says healthcare and retail are equally highest at the end, which is broadly right, but could be stated more precisely. More accurate reporting of these details would strengthen an otherwise relevant summary.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response is arranged in a sensible sequence: an introduction, an overview, then paragraphs describing the rising and falling sectors. This makes the main comparisons easy to follow, and linking phrases such as “Overall” and “On the other hand” help signal the structure. However, some connections within sentences are awkward or unclear, particularly “after then it climed more consistantly” and “after a drop of 4 million in1980,” where the sequence of changes is difficult to process. The final paragraph also combines several manufacturing stages in a long sentence. Use clearer time markers such as “by 1980,” “from 1980 to 2000,” and “thereafter,” and keep each sentence focused on one or two related changes to make progression smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a suitable range of vocabulary for describing trends, including “rose,” “declined,” “peak,” “increasing more gradually,” and “lowest number.” These choices communicate the main movements and show some flexibility beyond basic repetition. However, several spelling and word-choice errors reduce precision, such as “namelly,” “manufactiring,” “millon,” “steadly,” and “consistantly.” Some expressions are also unnatural for this chart, including “amount of jobs in million” and “number of opportunities”; “number of jobs” and “employment” would be more appropriate. Aim for accurate spelling and natural collocations, and distinguish carefully between a “steady” trend and a “consistent amount,” which describes stability rather than direction.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex sentences, including contrast clauses with “whereas” and “before,” and most of the intended meaning remains understandable. However, some verb forms and sentence patterns are inaccurate: “manufacturing start” should be “manufacturing started,” “before dipped” needs “before dipping” or “before it dipped,” and “continued fall” needs “continued to fall.” The phrase “after then it climed” also has an unclear grammatical construction, while “from the lowest in the figure from 2 million” repeats the preposition and lacks a natural structure. Check tense consistency when describing past data and use complete clauses after linking words. Greater control of these patterns would make your complex sentences more reliable.

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