Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-07-28
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 illustrate how frequently people in the USA ate in fast food restaurants between 2003 and 2013. It shows that people ate unhealthy food with time period.
According to the chart, Most of the people were obsessed with junk foods such as pizza, burger, french fries and soft drinks. USA is famous for their fast food franchise like Burgerking, KFC, McDonalds, Belgium waffale and pizzahut. That's the main reason that people from that country prefer fast food. Approximately 30% of people in US, eat this meal once in a week during 2003. Additionally, 33% people prefer to eat these food once in a week during 2006. Moreover, Other peoples (30%) favour to eat once or twice a month in 2003.
In conclusion, During 2003, Only 31% of people favors to eat junk food once a week. However, Approximately, 30 % people eat these food once or twice a month.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response fails to adequately address the task. While it mentions the topic, it does not provide a clear overview of the trends shown in the chart. Instead of summarizing the data, the writer includes external information about fast-food franchises (e.g., 'Burgerking, KFC'), which is not present in the provided chart. Furthermore, the data points selected are limited and repetitive, failing to cover the full range of the data (2003–2013) or make meaningful comparisons between the categories. The conclusion merely repeats data points rather than synthesizing the main features of the graph. To improve, focus strictly on the provided data and identify key trends, such as the overall increase or decrease in frequency over the decade.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The response is organized into paragraphs, but the logical progression is weak. The introduction is followed by a body paragraph that mixes data with irrelevant external knowledge, and the conclusion is essentially a restatement of specific figures rather than a summary. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Additionally' and 'Moreover', but they are sometimes used mechanically or inappropriately given the lack of coherent development. The referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the use of 'these food' and 'this meal', which lacks a clear antecedent. Improving the structure by grouping data logically—perhaps by category or by trend—would significantly enhance the flow of the essay.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is limited and often repetitive. The writer relies on basic terms like 'junk foods' and 'eat', which are used multiple times. There are also issues with word choice and spelling, such as 'waffale' and 'pizzahut', which are informal or incorrect. The phrase 'obsessed with' is slightly informal for an academic report. To achieve a higher band, you should aim to use a wider range of vocabulary related to data description, such as 'fluctuated', 'remained stable', or 'a significant proportion'. Avoid including brand names or personal opinions, as these are not appropriate for an Academic Task 1 response.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response contains frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. There are consistent issues with subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'The chart illustrate', '33% people prefer', '31% of people favors') and pluralization (e.g., 'Other peoples', 'these food'). The sentence structures are mostly simple, and there is a lack of complex sentence forms. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with unnecessary capitalization of 'USA' and 'US' used interchangeably without proper article usage. To improve, focus on mastering basic subject-verb agreement and ensure that plural nouns are used correctly. Incorporating a wider variety of complex sentence structures will also help demonstrate better grammatical control.
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