Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-05

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 5.0)

The chart illustrates the people in the USA eating at fast food in restaurants from 2003 to 2013. Every day people eating food was about 4 % in 2003 or in 2006 or 2013 people of percentage is approximately same . However, the percentage of people eat food in several times a week in 2003 to 2013 the percentage is frequently same there is not a lot of difference. In 2003 people eat fast food once a week at 30% and rise in 2006 at 3 % then, declined at 2013 in 4 %. In addition people eat a fast food once or twice a week 2003 and 2013 percentage rose at 30 to 335 and decreased in 2006. Therefore people eat fast food few times a yeas decreased at 15% in 2006 to 2013 and gradually low at the end of the year. Overall, in 2006 or 2013 the percentage of people eating food is high as compared to 2003.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response attempts to address the prompt by summarizing the provided chart. However, the analysis is significantly hampered by inaccurate reporting of the data. For instance, the claim that the percentage of people eating fast food 'once a week' rose by 3% in 2006 is not supported by the visual data, and the mention of '335' is a clear typographical error. The overview provided is vague and does not effectively highlight the main trends or significant differences across the years. To improve, you must ensure that the data points cited are accurate and that you focus on identifying clear trends, such as the most popular frequency categories, rather than listing individual figures without context.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the progression of ideas is often confusing. The use of cohesive devices is mechanical and sometimes inappropriate, such as the use of 'Therefore' to introduce a sentence about a decrease in frequency. Referencing is also unclear; for example, the phrase 'at the end of the year' is confusing in the context of a multi-year chart. While there is an attempt to use linking words like 'However' and 'In addition', the logical flow between sentences is frequently broken, making it difficult for the reader to follow the comparison of data over the decade.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The range of vocabulary is limited and repetitive, relying heavily on basic terms like 'percentage', 'people', and 'eat'. There are several instances of word-choice errors and awkward phrasing, such as 'people of percentage is approximately same' and 'gradually low'. Additionally, there are spelling errors, such as 'yeas' instead of 'years'. To reach a higher band, you should aim to use more precise vocabulary related to data description, such as 'fluctuated', 'remained stable', or 'accounted for', and ensure that your terminology is used accurately within the context of the graph.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains frequent grammatical errors that often impede communication. There are issues with subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'people eating food was'), incorrect verb tenses, and missing articles. Sentence structures are generally simple and often lack proper punctuation, which makes the text feel disjointed. For example, the sentence 'In 2003 people eat fast food once a week at 30% and rise in 2006 at 3 % then, declined at 2013 in 4 %' is grammatically incoherent. You need to focus on mastering basic sentence construction and ensuring that your verb forms consistently match the time frame of the data.

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