Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-17

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 given bar graph illustrates how often individuals of USA visit fast food restaurants from 2003 to 2013. Interestingly, most of the people prefer to visit restaurant once or twice in a month considerably.

To begin with, least number of people visited fast food restaurant everyday accounted for nearly 4% in 2003 and 3% roughly in 2006 as well as 2013. Talking about several times a week, exactly 20% people opted fast food in 2006, following this roughly 14 % in 2003 and 2013.

Furthermore, in 2006 proportion of people who selected fast food once a week reached its peak at a value of nearly 34%, and after that 31% and 27% in 2003 and 2013. Likewise, people who preferred to have fast food once or twice a month accounted at highest value of 34% in 2013 and similarly 30% as well as 25% in 2003 and 2006. Moreover, a few time a year, people selected fast food accounted at 15% in 2006 and 2013. However, least amount of people visited restaurant did not prefer restaurant accounted at nearly 5% in each year.

Overall. highest proportion of people preferred fast food restaurant once or twice in a year, while least percentage of people opted to not had launch or dinner of fast food.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have successfully identified the main features of the chart and provided relevant comparisons. You covered all categories (frequencies) and years provided. However, the summary is slightly marred by inaccurate reporting of the data. For instance, you stated that the 'highest proportion of people preferred fast food once or twice in a year,' but the data shows this category is actually 'once or twice a month.' Furthermore, the concluding sentence contains a factual error regarding the 'never' category. To improve, ensure that your data extraction is precise and that your overview accurately reflects the trends shown in the graph.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the information. You use some cohesive devices such as 'To begin with,' 'Furthermore,' and 'Overall,' which provide a basic structure. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the use of referencing is occasionally unclear. For example, the phrase 'following this roughly 14%' is slightly awkward. To reach a higher band, focus on using a wider variety of cohesive devices more naturally and ensure that the transition between your data points is smoother and less repetitive.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You have an adequate range of vocabulary to describe the data, such as 'proportion,' 'accounted for,' and 'reached its peak.' However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'a few time a year' (should be 'a few times a year') and 'opted fast food' (should be 'opted for fast food'). Additionally, the phrasing 'did not prefer restaurant' is imprecise. To improve, work on using more precise collocations and ensure that your vocabulary is used in the correct grammatical context to convey your meaning more effectively.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the' USA, 'the' restaurant), prepositions, and subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'people who selected fast food once a week reached its peak'). Some sentences are also missing necessary words, such as 'a few times a year' instead of 'a few time a year.' To improve, focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy, specifically articles and pluralization, and try to incorporate more varied complex sentence structures with greater precision.

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

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