Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-12

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 shows the percentage of how often people ate fast food in resturants from 2003 till 2013.

Overall, throughout the timeline majority was of the people who ate fast food once a week or twice a month. Least number of people ate every day, similarly almost same number of people never consumed fast food.People who consumed junk food several times a week and oppositely, who consumed few times a year have approximately moderate proportion till the end of timeline.

Although less than 5% people ate fast food every day, but 2003 witnessed very slight increase as compared to other two years. Percentage of people who consuemd fast food more frequently in a week remained below 20% and not less than 15%, but touched exactly 20% in 2006. Besides this, number of people who consumed only once a week observed a hike above 30% in 2003 and 2006 but in 2013 it kept below 30%.

People who took the junk food once or twice a month, were 30% in 2003, but dropped by 5% in 2006 and jumped above 30% by the end. People consuming this food only few times a year dropped to 15%, even below 15% in 2003. People who never ate fast food followed approximately the same pattern as of every day consumers, but a bit higher than that.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response successfully covers the main features and trends of the bar chart across the years 2003, 2006, and 2013. You have correctly identified the overall dominant categories, such as those eating fast food once a week or twice a month, and highlighted the extreme categories like those eating daily or never. Key comparisons are made between categories, and figures are appropriately cited to support the observations, such as mentioning the 20% peak in 2006 for frequent consumers and the 30% figures for monthly consumers. However, some minor details could have been integrated more smoothly, and the overview could be slightly sharper in capturing the general overarching trend. Overall, all parts of the prompt are addressed competently, satisfying the requirements for a Band 6.5 or solid Band 6.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is organized into logical paragraphs, with a clear introduction, an overview paragraph, and detailed body paragraphs discussing specific frequency groups. Cohesive devices are used throughout, such as 'Overall', 'Although', 'Besides this', and 'by the end'. However, referencing and progression can occasionally feel slightly mechanical or abrupt, as seen in sentences like 'Besides this, number of people who consumed only once a week observed a hike...'. Paragraphing is utilized sufficiently to separate distinct ideas, ensuring the overall arrangement remains coherent and easy to follow for the reader.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing you to effectively describe data trends using words like 'proportion', 'peak', 'hike', and 'dropped'. There are some spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'resturants' instead of restaurants, 'consuemd' instead of consumed, and 'majority was of the people' which is awkward phrasing. You attempt less common vocabulary items like 'moderate proportion' and 'approximately', but occasional inaccuracies in collocation and spelling prevent the lexical score from reaching higher bands. Communication is not impeded by these lexical slips, which aligns well with the Band 6 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating clauses with 'although' and relative structures. There are several grammatical errors and awkward structures present, such as missing articles ('majority was of the people' and 'Least number of people'), punctuation issues around conjunctions ('Although less than 5% people ate fast food every day, but 2003 witnessed...'), and prepositional awkwardness ('pattern as of every day consumers'). Despite these errors, the meaning remains clear and communication is not severely hindered. This represents a typical performance for Band 6 where a mix of structures is attempted alongside persistent errors.

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

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