Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-09

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 6.0)

The bar chart demonstrates how frequently people in the USA ate at fast food restaurants in 2003, 2006 and 2013.

Overall, there can be noted according to this bar chart it is clear the most people are fast food once a week or once or twice a month. By contrast, only a small proportion of people are fast food every day and never ate it.

In 2003, around 31 percent of people are fast food once a week, while about 30 percent did so once a twice a month. The figure for eating several times a week was approximately 17 percent. Only about 4 percent of Americans are fast food every day, and around 5 percent never ate it.

In 2006, eating fast food once a week became the most common choice, at about 33 percent, followed by several times a week at 20 percent. However, the percentage eating once or twice a month fell to around 25 percent. About 15 percent ate fast food a few times a year.

By 2013, the proportion eating fast food once or twice a month had increased significantly to approximately 33 percent, making it the highest figure. Meanwhile, around 28 percent ate it once a week and 16 percent several times a week. The figures for eating every day and never eating fast food remained very low, at about 3 percent each.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response covers all parts of the task well. You have successfully identified the main trends and provided relevant data points to support your descriptions. The overview is clear and highlights the most significant patterns, such as the popularity of eating fast food once a week or monthly. However, the report could be improved by making more direct comparisons between the years rather than just listing the data for each year sequentially. For instance, noting that the 'once a week' category saw a slight decline by 2013 compared to 2006 would strengthen the analytical aspect of the response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, overview, and body paragraphs that follow a chronological order. You use cohesive devices such as 'In 2003', 'By contrast', and 'Meanwhile' to guide the reader through the data. However, the paragraphing could be slightly more refined; the transition between the overview and the first body paragraph is a bit abrupt. Additionally, some referencing is slightly repetitive. Improving the variety of linking phrases would help the flow feel more natural and less mechanical, which is necessary to reach the higher band descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'proportion', 'significantly', and 'figure'. However, there are several instances of incorrect word choice and verb tense errors, such as 'most people are fast food' instead of 'eat fast food' and 'never ate it' instead of 'never eat it'. These errors are noticeable but do not impede communication. To reach a higher band, you should focus on using more precise collocations and ensuring consistent verb usage when describing trends in data.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you successfully use comparative structures, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with verb forms (e.g., 'most people are fast food' instead of 'eat', 'once a twice a month' instead of 'once or twice'). There are also some issues with article usage and tense consistency. While these errors rarely impede the overall meaning, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and consistent tense usage when reporting data will significantly improve your accuracy.

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

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