Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The line graph illustrates the information about the number of jobs in four different sectors manufacturing, retail, agriculture and healthcare of the economy in the US from nineteen sixty to twenty twenty .

Overall it can be seen that manufacturing sector was the highest economy in the US over the past years but rapid decrease after the 2000 .Whereas at the beginning of the period healthcare was the lowest number of econmoy at just 2 in millions in contrast it rose considerably over the period.

Following this agriculture sector has accounted for the smallest number ecomical conditions over the period .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the chart’s subject and mention two relevant broad patterns: manufacturing declines after its peak, while healthcare rises from the lowest starting point. However, the report is very incomplete: it gives no meaningful account of retail, and the agriculture trend is only briefly mentioned. The claim that manufacturing was the highest throughout is inaccurate, since retail and healthcare both reach about 16 million jobs by 2020, compared with manufacturing at about 13 million. The overview also needs clearer comparisons and key figures. The response contains 93 words, below the required 150; the eight words copied from the prompt are excluded from that count. Develop each sector’s trend and include the main turning points and end-of-period comparison.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is a basic attempt to organise the response: an opening sentence is followed by an overview and a further point about agriculture. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Whereas,” and “Following this” show an effort to connect ideas. However, the progression is limited because the response does not move through the four sectors in a clear, complete sequence, and “Following this” does not establish a clear relationship with the preceding point. The overview and agriculture statement also repeat the idea that agriculture was the smallest. Use separate, purposeful paragraphs and group the trends logically—for example, rising sectors together and declining sectors together—while using clear comparisons to guide the reader.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses some relevant chart vocabulary, including “line graph,” “number of jobs,” “rapid decrease,” and “rose considerably,” so the main trends are partly understandable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, such as “manufacturing sector was the highest economy” and “smallest number ecomical conditions.” These expressions make the intended meaning difficult to follow. There are also spelling errors in “econmoy” and “ecomical.” Choose precise terms for employment figures, such as “employment,” “job numbers,” and “sector,” and describe changes with standard collocations such as “fell sharply” or “increased substantially.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt more than simple statements, using a contrast with “Whereas” and a time phrase such as “at the beginning of the period.” However, the range remains narrow, and errors in sentence construction and punctuation occur frequently enough to affect clarity. For example, “Whereas at the beginning of the period healthcare was the lowest number” is not a complete, well-formed contrast, and “but rapid decrease after the 2000” lacks a clear subject and verb. The opening sentence also needs clearer punctuation around the list of sectors. Practise complete subject–verb clauses, accurate articles and prepositions, and sentence boundaries; then combine trends using controlled contrast clauses.

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.