Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-21
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 chart illustrates how often the population of USA visited fast food chains over a ten year period from 2003 to 2013.
Overall, the trend of going once a week or once or twice a month dominated by the percentage of the population in USA during each year. Never and everyday category had slight differences in proportion between 2003, 2006 and 2013.
Population of USA visited restaurant once a week with highest percentage in 2006 with 33% in contrast to other years. Once or twice a month category was dominated by 2013 at 33%. Several times a week category had the highest percentage in the year 2006 at 20%.
People ate at restaurants a few times a year with percentage at 15% in 2006 and 2013 whereas 2003 was at 13%. Everyday and never had similar trend with 2003 at 4% and 5% respectively as compared to 2006 and 2013 at 2.5% and 4% respectively.
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 chart, identifying the dominant trends and making relevant comparisons. However, the analysis is somewhat superficial. For instance, while you mention the highest percentages for specific years, the report lacks a more cohesive synthesis of the data. The overview is present but could be more clearly defined by highlighting the most significant shifts rather than just listing categories. Some data points are presented as a list, which limits the depth of the comparison. To improve, ensure you group data logically to show trends over the decade rather than just reporting isolated figures for each year.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear attempt to use cohesive devices. However, the flow between sentences is occasionally mechanical. For example, the transition between the overview and the body paragraphs is abrupt. Some referencing is slightly unclear, such as in the final paragraph where the comparison of 'everyday and never' trends becomes difficult to follow due to the repetitive use of 'respectively' and the way the data is grouped. Using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear thematic focus would improve the overall progression of ideas.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing you to convey the necessary information clearly. You use some topic-specific terms like 'fast food chains' and 'proportion'. However, the range is somewhat limited and repetitive. Phrases like 'dominated by' and 'had the highest percentage' are used multiple times, which reduces the sophistication of the writing. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more varied synonyms for 'increase', 'decrease', 'fluctuate', and 'remain stable' to describe the data trends more precisely. The current lexical range is sufficient but lacks the flexibility required for higher bands.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. There are some grammatical errors, such as missing articles ('the population of USA' should be 'the population of the USA') and awkward phrasing ('dominated by the percentage of the population'). Additionally, some sentences are slightly clunky, such as 'Everyday and never had similar trend'. While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles will significantly improve the accuracy of your writing.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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