Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-31

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 6.5)

The illustration displays how many jobs were in manufacturing, retail, agriculture and healthcare from 1960 to 2020 in US which are measured in millions.

Overall, employment of retail and healthcare sectors increased significantly over the time period. While manufacturing and agriculture declined notably. Earlier manufacturing was leading sector but over the time it declined then retail and healthcare sectors became the largest.

In 1960, manufacturing was the hightest jobs in the market which rose steadily to catch a peck of 20 million before falling to 13 million in 2020. Same as, agriculture had 6 millions job in 1960 which sharply dropped to just 3 millions by 1980. After that it was steady but in 2020 it slightly fell into 2 millions.

By contrast, retail sector jobs increased steadily throghout the period. In 1960, it was 6 million, which increased around double to 10 millions in 1980 and 15 in 2000 but it slightly increased to 16 millions in final year. Similarly, healthcare sector showed remarkable growth from 2 millions in 1960, then it was double in 1980 around 5 million then 11 millions in 2000 to 16 millions in 2020. Both retail and healthcare sectors met the same point.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You identify the main overall contrast accurately: retail and healthcare rise, while manufacturing and agriculture fall, and you note that manufacturing leads initially before the other two sectors become the largest. The body supports this with relevant figures, including manufacturing’s peak of 20 million and the final 16 million levels for retail and healthcare. The account of agriculture’s decline and subsequent stability is also clear. This gives the response a well-supported overview and covers the key trends. To make the report more precise, clarify that retail and healthcare are tied at 16 million in 2020; “met the same point” is less explicit. You could also compare the sectors at key dates more directly rather than describing each mainly in turn.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response has a clear four-paragraph structure: an introduction, an overview, and two detail paragraphs. Its progression is easy to follow, and the contrast between declining sectors and growing sectors is signalled with “Overall” and “By contrast.” Grouping manufacturing with agriculture, then retail with healthcare, is a sensible way to organise the data. Some linking is less natural or precise, however: “Same as” does not clearly express the relationship between the two trends, and “Both retail and healthcare sectors met the same point” leaves the comparison vague. The overview also repeats the idea of decline and growth in slightly awkward phrasing. More exact transitions and clearer references to the shared 2020 figure would make cohesion more flexible and polished.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing trends, including “increased significantly,” “declined,” “rose steadily,” and “sharply dropped,” so the main information remains understandable. However, the range and control are uneven, with several noticeable spelling, word-form, and collocation problems. Examples include “hightest,” “peck” for “peak,” “throghout,” and “catch a peck,” as well as “had 6 millions job.” Phrases such as “jobs in the market” and “met the same point” are imprecise for this chart. These errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the trends, but they limit precision and naturalness. Aim for accurate, conventional chart language and check spelling and singular/plural forms carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast clause beginning “While manufacturing and agriculture declined” and a relative clause in “which increased around double.” The overall meaning is generally recoverable, but grammatical errors recur in sentence construction, articles, agreement, and number. For example, “While manufacturing and agriculture declined notably” is a dependent clause presented as a sentence, and “in US” needs an article. In “agriculture had 6 millions job,” the noun phrase has incorrect number agreement; “it was double in 1980 around 5 million” also has an unclear structure. Practise forming complete sentences and checking articles, plural nouns, and clause boundaries. Greater accuracy in these patterns would make the varied structures easier to follow.

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