Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-07-24

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 6.5)

The bar chart illustrates the information about the frequency of eating at fast food restaurants among individual in the USA from 2003 to 2013. the units are given in percentages.

Looking from an overall perspective, it is readily apparent that once a week reached the highest percentages of people, while every day and never recorded the smallest feature.

To begin with, it is evident once a week in 2006 accounted for approximately 33% of the total, whereas it was higher by 5 percentage points for in 2013, which occupied 28%. Moreover, a few times a year in 2006 and 2013 had the narrowest gap, made up 15% and 15%. Additionally, never in 2006 and 2013 were broadly similar, represented roughly 4% each.

By contrast, once or twice a month in 2013 represented approximately 33%, while it was less then 3 percentage points in 2003, which occupied 30% . the largest disparity can be observed between once or twice a month in 2006 and every day in 2003, attributing 25% and 4%. it is worth highlighting that several times a week in 2013 was half of once or twice a month in in 2003, the figures were approximately 15% and 30% respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response provides a clear overview of the main trends and selects relevant data points to support the description. However, the analysis is somewhat inconsistent. For instance, the comparison of 'once a week' between 2006 and 2013 is slightly confusing, as the text states it was 33% in 2006 and 28% in 2013, but the chart shows 33% in 2006 and 31% in 2013. Additionally, the comparison of 'once or twice a month' contains a calculation error regarding the 'less than 3 percentage points' claim. While the main features are identified, the accuracy of the data reporting needs improvement to reach a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized into paragraphs, with an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. Cohesive devices such as 'Looking from an overall perspective', 'To begin with', and 'By contrast' are used to guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and there are instances where the flow is interrupted by awkward phrasing or minor errors in referencing. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different categories of data, which helps the reader follow the progression of information.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, with attempts to use descriptive phrases like 'narrowest gap' and 'largest disparity'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'recorded the smallest feature' (which is imprecise) and 'attributing 25%'. The range is sufficient to convey the main points, but it lacks the sophistication and precision required for higher bands. Spelling is mostly accurate, though the repetition of certain structures limits the overall lexical variety.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as missing articles ('among individual in the USA'), capitalization issues ('the units are given'), and incorrect prepositions ('higher by 5 percentage points for in 2013'). Additionally, there is a minor error in 'less then' (should be 'than'). While these errors do not significantly impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. The control over punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with sentence beginnings.

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