Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The line graph illustrates that how many people from United States often eat junk food in eatery between 2003 and 2013.

Overall, everyday eating fast food was very low from 2003 to 2013 and by the time pasess eating fast food increases. Eating junk food in once a week or once or twice a week increased rapidly from 2003 to 2013 era. Never eating junk food was decreased between 2003 to 2013 years.

Eating junk food in everyday was a bir low standing all three years on minimal ratio at 4% to 3%. In several times a week the eating ratio grows standing at 16% or 17%, while 2006 ratio was at its highest point at 20%.

Eating few times a year falls down and standing at 13% to 15%.

In contrast, the major change was showed in eating fast food once a week strarted from 23% to 33% and the highest one is 2006 era. Once or twice a month can be smilar to the previous point standing at 25% to 33% and the major higher one is 2013 era. The important change was seen in never eating fast food similar in all three years while 2003 was a littile high at 5% and 2006 or 2013 stands at 4%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the graph, including trends and key data points. However, the analysis is somewhat mechanical and lacks a clear, cohesive overview of the most significant trends. While the student identifies the increase in 'once a week' and 'once or twice a month' categories, the description of the data is occasionally imprecise (e.g., 'bir low standing'). The summary of the 'never' category is also slightly confusing. To reach a higher band, ensure that the overview synthesizes the data more effectively rather than just listing figures, and ensure that all comparisons are clearly linked to the specific years provided in the prompt.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat repetitive and occasionally mechanical (e.g., 'In contrast', 'Overall'). There are instances where the logical progression between sentences is weak, particularly in the third and fourth paragraphs where the transition between data points feels disjointed. Referencing is sometimes unclear, making it difficult to track which year or category is being discussed. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear thematic focus would enhance the flow of the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for a higher band. There is a reliance on basic descriptors such as 'eating junk food' and 'ratio', and some word choices are unnatural or inaccurate, such as 'by the time pasess' and 'bir low standing'. There are also spelling errors like 'strarted', 'smilar', and 'littile'. To improve, the student should focus on using more academic collocations related to data description, such as 'fluctuated', 'remained stable', or 'accounted for', and ensure accurate spelling of common terms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('eating fast food increases', 'major change was showed') and awkward phrasing ('illustrates that how many people'). Punctuation is generally functional, but the sentence construction is often clunky. To improve, the student should work on consistent tense usage—specifically keeping to the past tense when describing historical data—and practice complex sentence structures to reduce the frequency of errors in basic grammar.

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

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