Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-30

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)

we can see a picture of 4 sector health care sector agriculture sector retail marketing sector and and first and main manufacturing sector in this picture we can see health sector in 1960 are very low and face cirses but in 2020 we can see health sector is dominant every sector and there is opposite side we can see agriculture who is dominant in 1960 but in 2020 slowly people leave agriculture sector and we can see retail marketing who is same as same like health care sector people get many jobs and these 2 sector are dominant every sector but there is a another sector called manufacturing industry we can see in 1980 the sector is dominant every sector but through time people leaving this sector now 2020 people are in manufacturing industry but not as 1980 where manufacturing industry has very high demand these pictures describe how these sector are dominant each other through time

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several relevant overall trends: healthcare rises from a low starting point to become one of the largest sectors, agriculture declines, and manufacturing peaks in 1980 before falling. These observations show a partial understanding of the graph. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: agriculture was not dominant in 1960, when manufacturing had the most jobs, and by 2020 healthcare and retail were joint leaders rather than healthcare alone being dominant. The response also gives few precise figures and does not clearly compare the four sectors across the period. To strengthen the summary, state the main overall patterns accurately, then support them with selected values such as manufacturing’s peak of 20 million and agriculture’s fall from 6 million to 2 million.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

The response stays focused on the four sectors and attempts to compare their changes over time, using phrases such as “in 1960” and “in 2020.” However, it is presented as one long, run-on sequence, so the reader has difficulty following where one trend ends and another begins. Repeated linking phrases such as “we can see” and “but” do not create a clear progression, and references such as “these 2 sector” require the reader to work out which sectors are meant. Organise the report into a brief overview and separate paragraphs grouping rising and falling trends. Use clear transitions and refer to each sector by name to make the relationships easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “sector,” “manufacturing industry,” “dominant,” and “demand,” and the reader can generally identify the categories being discussed. However, the vocabulary is limited and repetitive, especially through repeated use of “we can see,” “sector,” and “dominant.” Several choices are imprecise for describing graph data: “people leave this sector” suggests a change in workers’ behaviour, while the graph reports job numbers; “face cirses” is unclear; and “same as same like” is not a natural comparison. Use precise trend language and vary it, for example, “employment fell,” “the figure rose steadily,” or “the sectors had equal numbers of jobs.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt to connect ideas in longer sentences, including contrasts between 1960 and 2020, but the response relies heavily on a single chain of clauses joined by “and” and “but.” This limited control makes sentence boundaries unclear and leads to frequent grammatical problems. Examples include “health sector in 1960 are very low,” where the subject and verb do not agree, and “these 2 sector are dominant,” which has a number-agreement error. Articles and sentence punctuation are also often missing. Practise writing shorter, complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, then add a controlled range of clauses—for example, “Healthcare rose from 2 million jobs in 1960 to 16 million in 2020.”

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.