Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-11-09
IELTS Writing Task 1 question
The chart below shows how frequently people in the USA ate in fast food restaurants between 2003 and 2013.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Student answer (Band 5.5)
The chart illustrated the percentage of people who ate in the fast food resturants between 2003 and 2013 in USA.
Overall, five routines of people demonstrated in the picture with their percentage. Most of the people visited the fast food resturant one a week and twice a month moreover, their routines were remained normal in all years.
A Massive percentage of people ate in fast food resturant once a week or one to two time in month. Their percenatge once time eating in week was highest in 2006, which was nearly 33% with the same percentage of once a month in 2013.
The percentage of visting resturant everyday and never were remained less than 5% throughtout all the years. However, some people ate in resturant several time a week their percentage was between 15 to 20% at given time. The percentage of few time in year was 15% in both last years with 14% in 2023.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
You identify the main categories and several important patterns, including the low proportions who ate fast food every day or never, and the peak of weekly visits in 2006. However, the overview is unclear and partly inaccurate: “their routines were remained normal” does not explain the main changes, and the claim that the largest groups were people eating once a week and twice a month overlooks that the leading category shifts to monthly visits in 2013. There is also a significant data error in “14% in 2023”; the chart ends in 2013, and the figure for eating a few times a year is about 12.5% in 2003 and 15% in both 2006 and 2013. Select the key comparisons more precisely and summarise the overall shift.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a basic paragraph structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs of details. This gives the reader some organisation, and “However” signals a contrast. Nevertheless, the progression is not consistently clear. The overview refers vaguely to “five routines” even though six categories are shown, and the details move between categories without a clear grouping or comparison across years. Linking words such as “moreover” and “However” do not always express the relationship between the ideas that follow them. Improve cohesion by grouping the most frequent categories together, then the least frequent ones, and use clear references to the years and categories so each comparison is easy to follow.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
You use some relevant task vocabulary, including “percentage,” “highest,” and “throughout,” and the reader can generally identify the categories being discussed. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or repetitive, such as “routines of people,” “visited the fast food restaurant,” and “their routines were remained normal.” Spelling errors, including “resturants,” “percenatge,” and “visting,” also reduce accuracy. Use precise chart language such as “proportion,” “frequency,” “accounted for,” and “rose/fell,” while checking spelling and avoiding repeated use of “percentage.” This would make the report more concise and natural without requiring unnecessarily complex vocabulary.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response attempts both simple and more complex sentences, for example, “However, some people ate in restaurant several time a week their percentage was between 15 to 20%.” However, complex constructions are often faulty, and errors sometimes make relationships difficult to follow. Examples include “their routines were remained normal,” “The percentage … were remained less than 5%,” and the run-on sentence joining the several-times-a-week category to its percentage. There are also problems with articles, number agreement, and sentence boundaries. Practise forming clear comparisons with accurate subject–verb agreement and past-tense reporting, and separate independent clauses with a full stop or suitable conjunction. More reliable sentence control will help your range communicate the data clearly.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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