Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-27

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 graph shows the trend lines of employment in four sectors of the US economy between 1960 and 2020. The four sectors include Manufacturing, Retail, Agriculture and Healthcare. It also shows that three of the sectors was booming and in those three only one was the highest in 1960.

During 1960 Retail, Agriculture and Healthcare was in low compared to the Manufacturing which was very high. In 1980 Manufacturing was in its peak while Healthcare and Retail started to grow but Agriculture started to decrease. In 2000 Agriculture stabilises, Retail and Healthcare keeps there steady growth while Manufacturing starts to decrease steadily. At the end of the chart in 2020 Agriculture reduces slightly more while Healthcare grows at the same rate but the growth rate decreases for Retail and for Manufacturing it decreases more this year.

At the start of 1960 healthcare was in between 0 and 5 millions jobs.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify all four sectors and describe several broad trends, including manufacturing peaking in 1980 and agriculture declining overall. However, the response only partly summarises the graph: it gives almost no figures beyond healthcare being between 0 and 5 million in 1960, and it lacks a clear overview of the most important end-point comparison. For example, by 2020 retail and healthcare both reach about 16 million, while agriculture is lowest at about 2 million; these are key features to report. Some descriptions are also inaccurate or unclear: retail and healthcare do not continue at the same rate throughout, and manufacturing falls from 20 million in 1980 to 13 million in 2020. Select the main comparisons and support them with approximate data.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response follows the timeline from 1960 to 2020, so the reader can generally understand the order of events. However, the information is presented in only two paragraphs, with no distinct overview, and the progression between comparisons is sometimes difficult to follow. The opening claim that three sectors were “booming” is not clearly connected to the later account, while the final sentence about healthcare in 1960 feels detached from the preceding 2020 discussion. Linking phrases such as “By contrast” and “By 2020” could help organise comparisons, but the main improvement is to group related trends and give a concise overview before the details.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “sectors,” “employment,” “peak,” “decrease,” and “growth,” and the reader can usually identify the trends you mean. However, some choices are imprecise or repetitive, which limits clarity. “Was booming” is too informal and does not accurately describe all three sectors; “was in low” is an unnatural phrase; and “growth rate decreases” suggests a rate rather than the number of jobs falling. Repeated use of “starts to” and “decreases” also narrows the range. Aim for precise trend language and natural collocations, such as “stood at,” “rose steadily,” “declined,” and “remained stable.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including time clauses and contrasts, and the overall meaning is generally recoverable. However, errors in agreement and verb forms occur repeatedly: “three of the sectors was” should be “three of the sectors were,” and “Retail, Agriculture and Healthcare was” should be “were.” The sentence “Retail and Healthcare keeps there steady growth” also has agreement and pronoun errors; use “kept up their steady growth.” Some sentence structures are awkward, particularly “During 1960 … was in low compared to…”. There is also inconsistent control of tense and punctuation. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and check subject–verb agreement in sentences with several sectors.

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