Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-01
IELTS Writing Task 2 question
The best way to provide enough homes in large cities is to build tall apartment blocks.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Student answer (Band 5.5)
The line graph illustrates the number of jobs in four sectors of the US economy between 1960 and 2020.
Overall, employment in retail and healthcare increased significantly, while agricultural jobs declined. Manufacturing rose initially before falling considerably.
In 1960, manufacturing was the largest sector, with about 15 million jobs. This figure peaked at approximately 20 million in 1980, then fell to around 17 million in 2000 and 13 million in 2020. Retail employment increased steadily from about 6 million in 1960 to 16 million in 2020.
Healthcare also grew substantially, rising from roughly 2 million jobs in 1960 to about 16 million in 2020. In contrast, agriculture declined from approximately 6 million to only 2 million jobs. By 2020, retail and healthcare had the highest employment, while agriculture had the lowest.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 2.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 7.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 2.5
The response is largely off-topic, as the student has written about a line graph showing US employment sectors rather than addressing the prompt regarding whether tall apartment blocks are the best way to provide homes in large cities. Furthermore, the length requirement of at least 250 words is not met, with the text containing only 131 words. As a result, the response only touches upon the task minimally and fails to present any position or arguments related to the actual essay question.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
There is some organisation within the text, featuring a clear overall arrangement with an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs discussing specific details. However, the progression is limited due to the brevity of the response. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Overall', 'In 1960', and 'In contrast', though referencing and transitions can feel somewhat mechanical. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate distinct points about the economic sectors, but the overall structure is constrained by the short length of the text.
Lexical Resource: Band 6.5
The vocabulary demonstrates an adequate range for the task, successfully handling data description with terms such as 'illustrates', 'declined', 'rose initially', and 'peaked at'. There are attempts at less common vocabulary related to trends, showing some awareness of appropriate style for data analysis. Spelling and word choice are generally accurate and do not impede communication, meeting the criteria for a solid lexical performance even though the content itself answers a completely different prompt.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 7.0
The grammar exhibits a good control of structures, featuring a mix of simple and complex sentence forms such as 'manufacturing was the largest sector, with about 15 million jobs' and 'Retail employment increased steadily from about 6 million in 1960 to 16 million in 2020.' There are frequent error-free sentences, and verb tenses and numbers are handled accurately throughout the description of historical data. Punctuation is also well controlled, reflecting a high level of grammatical accuracy.
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