Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-29

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 5.0)

The data presents the majority of individuals that eat food in USA restaurants from 2003 to 2013.

Overall, the chart shows three kinds of years and also six eating times and the largest is once a week and the shortest is every day.

The first is every day and in which 4% in 2003 and 3% is in 2006 and 2013. The second is several times in a week that contain food that is eating in 2003 is 17% and 20% in 2006 and 16% in 2013. The third is once a week and in which food is eating in restaurants 31% in 2006 and 32% in 2006 and 27% in 2013.

The fourth is once or twice a month in which food is consumed 30% in 2003 and 25% in 2006 and 33% in 2013. The fifth is few times a year and in which 12% food eating by people 2003 and 15% in 2006 and 2013. The sixth is never and in which 5% people who never eat and it is in 2003 and 4% and is in 2006 and 2013.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response covers all categories provided in the chart, but the presentation of data is mechanical and lacks analytical depth. While you identify the main features, the report is essentially a list of figures rather than a summary. For example, you state 'the largest is once a week', but you do not effectively compare the trends or highlight the most significant changes over the decade. To improve, focus on grouping data points to show trends (e.g., categories that increased versus those that decreased) rather than listing every percentage for every year, which makes the report repetitive and difficult to follow.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader navigate the information. However, the use of cohesive devices is very limited and repetitive. Phrases like 'The first is...', 'The second is...', and 'The third is...' create a mechanical structure that lacks flow. There is a lack of logical progression between sentences, and the referencing is often unclear, such as in the sentence 'The third is once a week and in which food is eating in restaurants 31% in 2006 and 32% in 2006'. The repetition of 'in which' and 'and' makes the text feel disjointed.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is quite limited and repetitive. You frequently use basic verbs like 'is' and 'eat' or 'eating' to describe data, which lacks the precision required for an academic report. Phrases such as 'food is eating' are grammatically incorrect and unnatural. There is little attempt to use a range of vocabulary related to data description, such as 'fluctuated', 'remained stable', 'peaked', or 'declined'. To reach a higher band, you should incorporate more varied verbs and nouns to describe trends and proportions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include 'the majority of individuals that eat food in USA restaurants' (should be 'who eat'), 'food is eating' (should be 'food is eaten'), and '12% food eating by people 2003' (should be '12% of food was eaten by people in 2003'). The sentence structures are mostly simple and repetitive. You rely heavily on 'in which' to connect clauses, which is often used incorrectly. A greater variety of complex sentence structures is needed to demonstrate control.

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