Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-07-26

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 7.0)

The bar chart illustrates how often US nationals ate fast food over a 10-year period, starting from 2003.

Overall, three trends can be observed at different times. Generally, the percentage of people eating fast food was highest in the 'Once a week' and 'Once or twice a month' categories, but lowest in the 'Every day' and 'Never' categories.

The percentages from 'Every day' to 'Once or twice a month' showed an increasing step, rising from less than 5% to almost 30%. Each year showed a varying rise in the 'Once or twice a month' category, with the highest percentage in 2013 (over 30%) and the lowest in 2006 (almost 25%). In contrast, there was a dramatic decline in the percentage of people eating fast food from the 'Once or twice a month' to the 'Never' category. Over this period, the bar graph illustrates a consistent decrease from less than 35% to less than 5% in 2013, with each year showing a decline.

In conclusion, the proportion of people eating fast food rose at the beginning but consistently declined at the end.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response covers the main features of the chart well, identifying key trends such as the rise in the 'Once or twice a month' category and the decline in the 'Never' category. However, the analysis is slightly hampered by a lack of precision in describing the data points. For instance, referring to 'Every day' to 'Once or twice a month' as an 'increasing step' is vague. To reach a higher band, you should provide more specific data comparisons between the years and categories, ensuring the overview clearly captures the most significant shifts across the entire period rather than just general trends.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a brief conclusion. The progression of ideas is generally easy to follow. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'In contrast' and 'Overall', which help link ideas. However, the transition between the second and third paragraphs could be smoother. The referencing is sometimes slightly mechanical, and the connection between the categories mentioned in the text and the actual visual data could be more explicitly linked to improve the flow of information.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'illustrates', 'proportion', and 'consistent decrease'. There is an attempt to use less common vocabulary, though some word choices are slightly imprecise, such as 'increasing step' or 'varying rise'. These do not impede communication, but they lack the precision expected at higher bands. To improve, focus on using more sophisticated collocations related to data description, such as 'a steady upward trend' or 'a significant fluctuation'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. Most sentences are clear and grammatically sound, though there are minor issues with phrasing, such as 'The percentages from 'Every day' to 'Once or twice a month' showed an increasing step'. While there are no major errors that impede meaning, the range of complex structures is somewhat limited. Increasing the variety of your sentence patterns—for example, by using more subordinate clauses or passive constructions—would help demonstrate greater control and flexibility.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.