Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-05
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 graph illustrates a comparative overview about the frequency of the people eating at fast food restaurants in USA over the timespan of 10 years.
Overall, the frequency is been categorized into 5 categories, among these frequency of people dining once a week and once or twice a month is the highest while people dining everyday and also people who never eats from fast food restaurants are the lowest among all the other categories.
People in the year 2006 had the highest record of consumption from the fast food restaurants across several times a week and once a week categories. However, proportion of people dining at fast food outlets showed a positive growth across all categorizes except the category A few times a year where its growth slightly plummeted.
Frequency of people in year 2013 displayed the highest eating frequency in the category once or twice a month and overall displayed a positive growth over the span of 10 years.
In conclusion, the frequency of people dining outside has shown a positive growth between 2003 to 2013 with fewer fluctuations indicating the impact of these fast food on the life of people and economy of USA as a whole.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response provides a general overview of the data, but it fails to report key features effectively. While you mention the highest and lowest categories, the description of the trends is vague. For instance, stating that 'proportion of people dining at fast food outlets showed a positive growth' is an overgeneralization, as the data shows fluctuations and specific declines in certain categories. You did not provide specific data points or years to support your claims, which is essential for an Academic Task 1 response. The conclusion includes external information about the 'economy of USA,' which is not present in the chart and is irrelevant to the task. To improve, focus on selecting specific data points to illustrate the trends.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, including an introduction, overview, body, and conclusion. However, the progression of ideas is somewhat mechanical. The use of cohesive devices is present (e.g., 'Overall', 'However', 'In conclusion'), but they are sometimes used in a way that does not accurately reflect the relationship between the data points. For example, the transition between the general overview and the specific body paragraph is abrupt. The referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the phrase 'across several times a week and once a week categories,' which lacks a clear connection to the specific data trends being discussed.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks precision. You use basic descriptors like 'positive growth' and 'highest record' repeatedly. There are some inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'categorizes' instead of 'categories' and 'plummeted' to describe a very slight change in the data, which is an exaggeration. To reach a higher band, you should aim for more precise terminology related to data analysis, such as 'fluctuated,' 'remained stable,' or 'witnessed a marginal decline.' The vocabulary is sufficient to convey the general meaning, but it does not demonstrate a wide or sophisticated range.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
There are several grammatical errors throughout the text that occasionally hinder the flow. For example, 'the frequency is been categorized' is incorrect; it should be 'the frequency has been categorized.' You also have issues with subject-verb agreement, such as 'people who never eats' (should be 'eat') and 'all categorizes' (should be 'categories'). While you attempt some complex sentence structures, they are often marred by these errors. The punctuation is generally acceptable, but the sentence construction needs more attention to ensure accuracy, particularly with verb tenses and pluralization.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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