Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-28

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 4.0)

The line graph provides information about preferences number of jobs (in millions) through four different sectors of the economy- Manufacturing, Retail, Agriculture, and Healthcare- in the US between 1960 to 2020. overall, we can see that some sectors had more jobs than others. Manufacturing it rose initially before falling sharply

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

The response identifies the chart’s subject and names all four sectors, and it begins to report a relevant trend: manufacturing employment rose before declining. However, the summary is far too incomplete to cover the main features. It gives no figures and says nothing about the substantial growth in retail and healthcare or the decline in agriculture; the overview that “some sectors had more jobs than others” is too general to convey the key comparisons. The manufacturing trend is also left unfinished, with no indication of its peak or later level. The response is 100 words below the required minimum, which severely limits the information reported. Develop a clear overview and compare the major trends using selected figures.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 3.5

There is a basic sequence: an opening sentence introduces the graph, followed by an attempted overview and a manufacturing detail. The use of “overall” signals a shift toward the main summary. However, the response ends abruptly after “falling sharply,” so there is no complete progression through the data and no developed paragraph structure. The overview is vague and does not lead into comparisons among the sectors. Organise the report into an introduction, a concise overview, and one or two paragraphs grouping related trends—for example, the growing sectors and those that declined. Complete each sentence and use clear links between the overview and supporting details.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The response uses relevant topic vocabulary, including “sectors,” “Manufacturing,” “Retail,” “Agriculture,” and “Healthcare,” and “rose” and “falling” are suitable basic trend terms. However, the range is very limited, and some phrasing is inaccurate or awkward: “preferences number of jobs” does not clearly describe what the graph shows, while “some sectors had more jobs than others” is too imprecise for a data summary. The phrase “falling sharply” is not supported by a stated figure or comparison. Use precise reporting language such as “employment,” “increased,” “declined,” “peaked,” and “remained stable,” and distinguish the trends of each sector. More varied, accurate vocabulary would make the limited information clearer.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response attempts both a longer introductory sentence and a trend statement, but grammatical control is uneven. In “between 1960 to 2020,” the time expression uses an incorrect pairing; write “between 1960 and 2020” or “from 1960 to 2020.” “Manufacturing it rose initially” has an unnecessary subject pronoun after the topic, and the sentence is left incomplete in meaning because the decline is not specified. The opening also needs clearer punctuation around the list and a capital letter for “Overall.” Most of the writing relies on simple structures, so there is little evidence of a controlled range. Practise complete comparison sentences and check sentence boundaries, tense consistency, and punctuation.

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