Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

The bar chart compares how often people in the USA ate out between 2003 and 2013.

Overall, the Americans ate the highest in fast food restaurants once a week and ate out the least every day.

In detail, USA citizens enjoyed eating out once a week in 2003, 2006, and 2013 accounting for the largest percentage of individuals with around 33%, 34% and 27% respectively, followed by people who loves to eat at a canteen once or twice a month with a percentage not more than 35%. In addition, individual ate out several times a week in 2003 at about 17%, in 2006 at 20%, and 2013 reduced noticeable to around 14%. Eating a few times a year accounted for around 13% in 2003 and grew significantly to 15% in 2006 and 2013.

Visiting a restaurant every day or never accounted for the least proportion of individuals with a percentage below 5 over the period.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have successfully identified the main trends and provided a clear overview of the data. You selected key features, such as the most frequent category ('once a week') and the least frequent ones ('every day' or 'never'). However, the report lacks a more analytical comparison between the years. For instance, while you mention the percentages, you could have more effectively highlighted the contrast between the growth in the 'few times a year' category and the decline in the 'several times a week' category. The data is generally accurate, but ensure that all figures are presented clearly to avoid ambiguity.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, an overview, and supporting body paragraphs. You use some cohesive devices like 'In addition' and 'Overall' to guide the reader. However, the transition between sentences is sometimes a bit mechanical, and the paragraphing could be improved by ensuring each paragraph focuses on a distinct group or trend. The use of referencing is generally clear, though some sentences feel slightly disconnected, which prevents the flow from being fully natural and sophisticated.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'accounting for', 'proportion', and 'significantly'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'ate the highest' (which should be 'ate most frequently') and 'reduced noticeable' (which should be 'reduced noticeably'). To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more precise academic collocations and avoid repetitive phrasing. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning, but it lacks the flexibility and sophistication required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. However, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('individual ate out' should be 'individuals ate out' or 'an individual ate out') and incorrect adverb usage ('reduced noticeable' instead of 'noticeably'). While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focus on proofreading for basic tense consistency and pluralization to improve your accuracy.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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