Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-13

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 graph compares the frequency of Americans who ate fast food during a decade from 2003 to 2013.

Overall, Most of the people preferred to eat fast food once a week and once or twice a month, whereas the frequency of eating every day was less common in America.

In 2003, almost 31% of individuals went to fast food restaurants once a week, which is the highest frequency, a similar proportion of 30% ate fast food once or twice a month. The figure of citizens decreased to nearly 17% who visited fast food restaurants several times a week. Approximately, 12% Americans consumed fast food a few times a year.

In 2006, around 33% of people had a habit of eating fast food once a week, however the figure dropped to 25 % for once or twice a month. The percentage of individuals rose to 20% who visited fast food restaurants several times a week. By 2013, the pattern showed a drop of approximately 3% for once a week, paradoxically the pattern of consuming fast food once or twice a month climbed to 33% and occupied the highest proportion. The figure of eating fast food several times a week decreased to around 16%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have successfully identified the main trends and provided relevant data points to support your summary. You covered the key features of the chart, including the shifts in popularity between 2003 and 2013. However, the response lacks a clear overview of the 'never' and 'a few times a year' categories, which would have provided a more comprehensive picture. Additionally, while you mention 2003, 2006, and 2013, the analysis could be more effectively structured by grouping trends rather than listing data chronologically, which would better highlight the comparative aspect of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. You use cohesive devices such as 'whereas', 'however', and 'by 2013' to link ideas. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the paragraphing could be improved by ensuring each paragraph focuses on a distinct trend or time period. The referencing is generally clear, though the flow between sentences in the final paragraph is slightly disjointed due to the abrupt shift in focus between the different frequency categories.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'proportion', 'consumed', and 'frequency' appropriately. There are some minor issues with word choice, such as 'the figure of citizens decreased', where 'the proportion of citizens' or 'the percentage of people' would be more precise. You attempt to use varied vocabulary, but the range is somewhat limited and relies on repetitive structures. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more sophisticated collocations and avoid repeating the same phrases to describe data changes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. There are some grammatical slips, such as 'Most of the people' (unnecessary capitalization) and '12% Americans' (missing 'of'). Additionally, some sentences are slightly awkward, such as 'the figure of citizens decreased to nearly 17% who visited', which is grammatically clunky. While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more consistent control over complex sentence construction and prepositional usage.

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

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