Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-03

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)

The Line Chart illustares that number of employees in different sectors of the economy in United States between 1960 and 2020.

Overall, The Agriculture has lowest economy in US over the period of time. Healthcare has shown rapid growth than previous.

In 1960, Healthcare and Agriculture shown less amount of employees in this sector but Healthcare has improved economy till 2020 and reached till 15 millions jobs. Unfortunately US has not improved the economy of Agriculture with the time graph has decline and reached 2 millions jobs only.

On other hand, Retail and Manufacturing has great start kick. Ratail has improved his economy with time and reached 16 millions of employees in 2020. Regrettably Manufacturing slighter its employees from year 1980 and till 2020 it reduced 7 millions jobs.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the broad trends: agriculture remains the smallest sector, healthcare rises, retail grows, and manufacturing falls after its peak. However, the overview is brief and some comparisons are incomplete or inaccurate. Healthcare reaches about 16 million jobs in 2020, not 15 million, and manufacturing falls from 20 million in 1980 to 13 million in 2020—a decrease of about 7 million, rather than ending at 7 million. The response also omits useful comparisons, such as retail and healthcare both reaching roughly 16 million by 2020. At 129 words, it does not meet the 150-word minimum, which limits the detail available to summarise the main features. Include a clearer overview and report key figures accurately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic overall structure, moving from an introduction and overview to details about healthcare and agriculture, then retail and manufacturing. This gives the reader some sense of organisation. However, progression within the paragraphs is not always clear, and linking phrases such as “On other hand” and “Unfortunately” or “Regrettably” are either grammatically incomplete or introduce an evaluative tone that is not suitable for a neutral chart summary. Some references are also unclear, as in “this sector” and “his economy.” Group the sectors by their trends, use straightforward transitions such as “By contrast” or “Meanwhile,” and make each comparison explicit. These changes would make the relationships between the figures easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “employees,” “sectors,” “rapid growth,” and “decline,” so the general subject is understandable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, sometimes making the meaning difficult to interpret. For example, “lowest economy” does not describe the number of jobs, and “great start kick” is not a natural way to report a trend. “Manufacturing slighter its employees” is also unclear. There are spelling errors, including “illustares” and “Ratail,” and repeated use of “economy” where “employment” or “number of jobs” is needed. Choose precise chart language and check spelling and collocations before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including the contrast in “Healthcare has improved … but … Agriculture … has decline.” However, errors are frequent and sometimes make relationships between ideas unclear. Examples include missing articles in “number of employees” and “in United States,” incorrect subject–verb forms in “Healthcare and Agriculture shown,” and the faulty construction “with the time graph has decline.” Tense and verb forms are also inconsistent, as in “has decline” and “Manufacturing … reduced.” Sentence boundaries and capitalization need attention too, particularly the capital letters after commas in “Overall, The” and “On other hand.” Practise accurate past-tense reporting and build shorter, complete sentences before adding complex clauses.

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