Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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

Number of jobs in four sectors of the economy in the US, 1960-2020

Student answer (Band 5.0)

This graps illustares the number of jobs in four sectors of the economy between 1960 to 2020

The major drop in jobs can be seen in the manufacturing economy and the health care economy. There has been an overall increase in number of jobs in agriculture and healthcare.

In 1960 manufacturing has the highest number of jobs among all which peaked at 20 million in year 1980. Healthcare had least number of job available but its graph increased gradually over the time and reached to the maximum job producer untill year 2020. Retail's graph is simmilar to health care inatilally is was producing more number of jobs but untill the year 2020 it production reached exactly as healthcare. Agriculture had initially 6 millions jobs which decreased over the time. Major decrease happen till 1980 which was about 2 million jobs and after that it gradually reached at producing minimum jobs till the year 2020

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response4.5
Coherence and Cohesion4.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify several relevant trends, including manufacturing’s peak in 1980 and agriculture’s decline, but the overview is inaccurate: manufacturing fell after 1980, while healthcare rose, so there was not a major drop in both sectors. You also say jobs increased in agriculture, contradicting the chart. Some comparisons are useful, such as healthcare and retail both reaching about 16 million in 2020, but the retail description is unclear and the agriculture figures are partly misreported: it was about 3 million in 1980 and 2000, then 2 million in 2020. The response is 144 words, below the 150-word minimum; the 10 copied prompt words are excluded. Add a clear, accurate overview and support it with precise comparisons.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response has a basic sequence: an introduction, a broad overview, and then details about the sectors. This gives the reader some sense of organisation, and words such as “but” and “after that” attempt to show contrast and time progression. However, the overview conflicts with the later details, and the sector comparisons are not consistently ordered or clearly linked. For example, the sentence about retail shifts between its initial level and its 2020 level without clearly stating the intervening rise. The agriculture account also repeats the idea of decline rather than presenting the stages cleanly. Use separate, purposeful paragraphs and group related trends—for example, rising sectors together and declining sectors together—with clear references to years and values.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant task vocabulary, including “peaked,” “gradually,” “overall increase,” and “minimum,” which helps describe trends. However, the range is uneven and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or awkward, such as “maximum job producer,” “its production reached,” and “number of job available.” Spelling errors—including “graps,” “illustares,” “simmilar,” and “inatially”—are noticeable and reduce the precision expected in a chart summary. Some repetition of “jobs” and “reached” also limits flexibility. Build a reliable set of trend expressions and check spelling and word forms; for example, describe a sector as “employing the most people” rather than a “job producer.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including a contrast with “but” and a time clause beginning “until the year 2020.” However, control is inconsistent, and errors sometimes make relationships difficult to follow. Examples include “between 1960 to 2020” (use “between 1960 and 2020”), “In 1960 manufacturing has” (past tense is needed), and “Agriculture had initially 6 millions jobs” (the plural and sentence structure are faulty). The sentence about retail also lacks clear grammatical structure, while several sentences omit articles or use agreement inconsistently. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and shorter, complete clauses before combining them; check articles, singular/plural forms, and punctuation.

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