Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The bar chart illustrates the amount of junk food Americans usually consume between 2003 and 2013.

Overall. The American citizen tend mostly to eat once a week or once or twice a month. Also they likely tend to eat it every day ot never eat it.

In 2003, over 30% of Americans prefered to eat fast food once a week and 30% of them prefered to eat junk food once or twice a month,15% of them consumed it several times a week and less them 5% tend to eat it every day and 5% nerves eat outside.

In 2006, the tendency of people is similar; 33% like to eat junk food once a week and 25% prefer to eat once or twice a month 20% like to eat it several times a week and 15% like to eat it 15% and less then 5 prefer to eat it every day and 4% never it it.

In 2013 33% of the citizens eat junk food once a week and 27% tend to eat it once or twice a month and 16% like to eat it several times a week and 15% prefer to it a few times a year and less then 5 like to eat it every day and 4% never consume it.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response covers the main features of the chart across the three specified years (2003, 2006, and 2013), making appropriate comparisons between categories such as eating once a week and once or twice a month. However, there are some inaccuracies in reporting the data points, such as stating '15% like to eat it 15%' in 2006, which causes confusion. Additionally, the overview paragraph contains fragmented sentences ('Overall. The American citizen tend mostly...') and fails to effectively highlight the most striking overall trends. Because the response does attempt to address all parts of the task and presents key data, it meets the criteria for Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.5

Cohesion and paragraphing are major weaknesses in this response. The text suffers from a major punctuation error right at the start ('Overall. The American citizen tend...'), breaking the flow of the overview. Paragraphing is poorly handled, with the body paragraphs clumped together awkwardly and containing run-on sentences that list data without clear logical progression. Cohesive devices are minimal and repetitive, relying mostly on time markers ('In 2003', 'In 2006', 'In 2013') rather than sophisticated linking words or effective referencing. Consequently, the organization feels mechanical and lacks smooth transitions between ideas, placing it firmly at Band 4.5.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student demonstrates a limited but minimally adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'consume', 'tendency', and 'category'. However, there are numerous lexical errors and awkward collocations, such as 'nerve eat outside' (instead of never eat out) and 'never it it' (instead of never eat it). Spelling mistakes like 'prefered' and repetition of basic structures also restrict the lexical score. While the vocabulary allows the reader to generally understand what is being discussed, the frequent errors in word choice and form prevent the response from achieving a higher band, resulting in a score of 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.5

The text displays a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple subject-verb-object patterns to list percentages. Attempts at complex sentences are largely absent, and simple sentences frequently contain basic errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('The American citizen tend') and tense inconsistencies. Punctuation is also problematic, notably with the stray full stop in the second sentence. Frequent grammatical errors cause noticeable difficulty for the reader and distort meaning in places, which aligns with the Band 4.5 descriptors.

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