Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-30

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 6.0)

The bar chart compares the proportion of people in the USA who ate at fast food restaurants at six different frequencies in 2003,2006 and 2013.

Overall, eating in once a week or once or twice a month were by far the most common habits throughout a period, together accounting for around 60% of people each year. It is also noticeable that two main extremes for people who eats every day or never eating it all, involved very small or largely unchanging minorities.

In 2003 and 2006, the weekly consumption of people was one of the most popular option at approximately 30% to 33%,but this fell to about 28% in 2013. Meanwhile eating out once or twice a month followed an opposite pattern, decreasing from roughly 30% to 25% in 2006 before climbing to the 33% in 2013 at which point this became the leading category.

The remaining frequencies accounted for considerably fewer people.

However, about 16% of Americans who ate fast food several times a week ,peaking to 20% in 2006 than after keep returning to the similar level in 2013.The figure for those who ate fast food a few times a year slightly from 12% to under 15% while fewer than 5% either ate fast food every day or never did in any of the years surveyed.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have successfully identified the main trends and provided a clear overview of the data. You covered all categories and made relevant comparisons between the years. However, there are some inaccuracies in data reporting; for example, you mention that the figure for those who ate fast food a few times a year 'slightly' increased, but the jump from 12% to nearly 15% is a notable change. Additionally, the description of the 'several times a week' category is slightly confusing in its phrasing. To improve, ensure that your data points are precise and that your descriptions of trends clearly distinguish between minor fluctuations and significant shifts.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. You use cohesive devices such as 'Meanwhile', 'However', and 'In 2003 and 2006' to guide the reader. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical or awkward, such as 'than after keep returning to the similar level'. The paragraphing is appropriate, but the flow between sentences could be smoother. Ensure that your cohesive devices are used to link ideas naturally rather than just acting as signposts at the start of sentences. Overall, the progression of ideas is clear and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'proportion', 'frequencies', 'minorities', and 'consumption'. There are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'eating in once a week' (should be 'eating out') and 'peaking to 20%'. You also have some awkward phrasing like 'the remaining frequencies accounted for considerably fewer people'. While your vocabulary is sufficient to convey the meaning, you should aim for more precise collocations and avoid repetitive structures to reach a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is good. However, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('people who eats'), missing articles, and awkward sentence fragments ('The figure for those who ate fast food a few times a year slightly from 12%...'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with spacing after commas. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the main points, they occur frequently enough to impact the overall fluency of the writing.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.