Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-24
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 chart represents information about the frequency of eating at fast food restaurants among individuals in the united nation of america during time period of 2003 to 2013.
Overall, it is evident that in all the given years vast majority of individuals eating fast food was covered by who eat once a week where as,minimum was covered by those who eat never fast food.
To start with, it is evident that. individuals who eat junk food in their daily life their proportion was below 5% in the given years which was followed by those individuals who eat fast food several times a week. furthermore, more than 25% of individuals ate unhealthy food once a week.
Moving towards, in the USA. individuals who ate unhealthy food once or twice a month their proportion was more than 25%. Furthermore,15% of individuals eat junk food a few times a year. Where as, individuals who ate fast food never their proportion was below 5%.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers the main features of the chart, but the analysis is somewhat superficial. While you identify the most frequent and least frequent categories, the comparison between years is largely absent. The task requires you to report on the trends or changes over the decade, but you have treated the data as static snapshots. Additionally, there are inaccuracies in the data reporting; for example, stating that 'never' was below 5% is correct, but the description of the other categories lacks precision and fails to highlight the stability or slight fluctuations of the data points across the 2003–2013 period.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. Phrases like 'To start with' and 'Moving towards' are used, but they do not always logically connect the ideas. There are also issues with punctuation, such as the unnecessary full stop in 'it is evident that. individuals', which disrupts the flow of the text. The referencing is sometimes unclear, making it difficult to track which data points are being compared.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is somewhat limited and repetitive. You frequently use the phrase 'individuals who eat' and 'junk food' or 'unhealthy food' to describe the categories, which lacks the variety expected at higher bands. There are also errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'united nation of america' (which should be 'United States') and 'vast majority of individuals eating fast food was covered by'. These errors occasionally make the meaning slightly awkward, though the message remains understandable.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response relies on a limited range of sentence structures, and there are frequent grammatical errors. Issues include subject-verb agreement ('vast majority... was covered'), missing articles, and incorrect preposition usage. Punctuation is also problematic, with several sentences containing unnecessary full stops or missing commas. While you attempt some complex structures, they are often faulty, which impacts the clarity of your writing. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction and ensuring subject-verb agreement.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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