Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-22
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 chat depicts the frequency of US people eating in restaurant over the decade. The graph indicates higher percentage of people eating one or twice a month in fast food chains.
Overall, trend seems to increase as we increase the duration of time, for instance around 12% of people were eating outside a few times a year, this number increased in 2006 by 3% and stayed at 15% till 2013. Reversed trend has been noticed if we decreased the obervati9on duration from a few times a year to every day.
Majority of population above 30% in average tends to eat outside in fast food places and cafes once a week and once or twice a month regardless of observation period in years of 2003 to 2013.
Overall, if we move observation period from every day to never eating outside, it follows bell shaped curve picked at middle when people consider once a week or biweekly.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response provides a general overview but fails to report key data points effectively. While it identifies the most frequent categories, it lacks specific data comparison. The description of trends is vague; for example, stating 'trend seems to increase' is not supported by a clear analysis of the provided chart. The attempt to describe the data as a 'bell shaped curve' is an interesting observation, but the lack of precise figures (e.g., comparing 2003 and 2013 for specific categories) limits the task achievement. To improve, you must select and report specific data points to support your summary rather than making broad, unsupported generalizations.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the logical progression is weak. The use of cohesive devices is limited and sometimes mechanical, such as the repetitive use of 'Overall' at the start of paragraphs. The transition between the description of the trends and the summary of the 'bell shaped curve' is abrupt. Referencing is occasionally unclear, particularly when discussing the 'observation period', which makes it difficult to follow the comparison between the different years. More varied linking words and clearer referencing would improve the flow.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the precision required for a higher band. There are some spelling errors, such as 'obervati9on' and 'chat' instead of 'chart'. The range of vocabulary is limited, relying on basic terms like 'eating outside' and 'fast food places'. While the attempt to use terms like 'bell shaped curve' shows an effort to describe data patterns, the overall lexical control is basic. To reach a higher band, you should incorporate more precise academic vocabulary related to data description, such as 'fluctuated', 'remained stable', or 'a significant proportion'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Examples include 'The bar chat depicts the frequency of US people eating in restaurant' (missing article/pluralization) and 'Majority of population above 30% in average' (awkward phrasing). There are also issues with subject-verb agreement and preposition usage. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to affect the clarity of the report. Focusing on sentence construction and proofreading for basic errors would significantly improve your score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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