Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The graph illustrates the number of jobs in four sectors of the US namely manufacturing, retail, agriculture, healthcare between 1960 and 2020.

Overall, manufacturing was the largest employment sector in early years and it considerably decreases at 1980s. In contrast retail and healthcare experienced upward trends and the agriculture employment sector gradually decrease.

In 1960 manufacturing sector have 15 million number of jobs and increase near 20 million in 1980 and after that considerably decreases. Moreover, retail in 1960 consisting of more than 5 millions of job and increase with the upward trends and in 1980 reaches 10 million and gradually increases more than 15 millions of job. Furthermore, healthcare in 1960 increase from 5 million to 15 in 2020 gradually.

By contrast agriculture sectors in 1960 decreases from 5 million and this sector gradually decreases from 1960 to 2020. Eventually, falling below 1 million in 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the four sectors and give a general overview of their contrasting trends, which addresses the main purpose of the task. However, some key details are inaccurate or unclear: manufacturing peaks at about 20 million in 1980 and then falls to 13 million by 2020, but the overview says it decreases “at 1980s,” suggesting the decline began earlier. Healthcare rises from about 2 million in 1960 to 16 million in 2020, not from 5 million to 15 million. Agriculture ends at about 2 million, rather than below 1 million. The response also falls short of the 150-word minimum, with 138 words. Include more accurate endpoint figures and comparisons to develop the summary fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs describing the sectors. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Moreover,” and “By contrast” help signal the direction of the discussion. However, the progression is not always clear because several trends are compressed into long, loosely connected sentences, and some comparisons are difficult to follow. For example, “healthcare in 1960 increase from 5 million to 15 in 2020 gradually” does not clearly state the starting and ending points. The repeated use of “gradually” and “increase” also makes the account feel mechanical. Grouping the rising sectors together and the declining sector separately, with clearer sentence boundaries, would improve flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing charts, including “upward trends,” “decreases,” and “employment sector,” so the topic remains understandable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or combinations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “manufacturing was the largest employment sector in early years,” “consisting of more than 5 millions of job,” and “decreases at 1980s.” Repetition of “increase,” “decreases,” and “gradually” also limits precision. Aim to use a wider set of accurate trend verbs and standard collocations for figures, such as “stood at,” “rose to,” and “declined to.” This would make the descriptions more concise and natural without changing the meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including contrastive structures such as “In contrast retail and healthcare experienced upward trends.” However, errors in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction occur throughout and sometimes make details hard to interpret. Examples include “manufacturing sector have 15 million,” “it considerably decreases,” and “agriculture sectors … decreases”; these need consistent subject–verb agreement and appropriate tense. The sentence about healthcare also lacks a clear grammatical structure. There are some correctly formed clauses, but control is not consistent enough across the response. Practise describing past data with accurate past-tense verbs and build each sentence around a clear subject and verb.

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