Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-19
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 bar graph illustrates the regular visits by the people of United State of America to quick food restaurants in period of 2003 to 2013. The data only represents 2003,2006 and 2013 and it is given in percentage.
Overall, the usual traffic for fast food once per week was the highest among all. However, people did not prefer to eat junk food everyday which was the lowest of all.
The amount of individuals eating quick snacks every day was lowest among all which were 4% in 2003, 3% in 2006 and 2013. However, the data increases drastically for people who prefer several time per week and it led to 17%, 20% and 16% respectively. Moreover, in category of once a week fast food consumer reaches all time high for 2003 and 2006 which were 32%, 34% and 27% in 2013 respectively.
Furthermore, many people choose healthy life and they prefer to have junk food once or twice a month which were highest in 2013 at 34% and 30% and 25% for 2003 and 2006. Although, it decreases to 15% for 2003, 2006 and 13% in 2013. In addition to that it followed the downward trend and decreases to 5% in 2003 and 4% each for 2006 and 2013.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers the main features of the data, including the trends for different frequencies of fast food consumption. However, the reporting of data is occasionally confusing. For instance, in the third paragraph, the figures for 'once a week' are listed as '32%, 34% and 27%', but the order of years is inconsistent with the data provided. Additionally, the description of the 'once or twice a month' category is muddled, as the percentages mentioned do not clearly align with the chart's labels. While the overview is present, the lack of precision in reporting the data points prevents a higher score.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'However', 'Moreover', and 'In addition to that' are used to link ideas. However, the progression of information within the body paragraphs is sometimes disjointed. The referencing is occasionally unclear, particularly when discussing the categories in the final paragraph, making it difficult for the reader to track which data point corresponds to which frequency. Paragraphing is used appropriately, but the internal flow could be smoother.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, using terms like 'drastically', 'category', and 'downward trend'. However, there are some awkward collocations and word choices, such as 'usual traffic' instead of 'frequency of visits' and 'quick food restaurants' instead of 'fast food outlets'. The phrase 'several time per week' contains a grammatical error (should be 'several times'). While the range is sufficient to convey the main points, it lacks the precision and sophistication required for a higher band score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'people of United State of America' (missing 'the'), 'in period of' (missing 'the'), and 'consumer reaches' (subject-verb agreement). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are errors in the use of commas and articles throughout the text. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to suggest a lack of control over more complex structures.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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