Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-13

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 pie chart illustrates the proportion of people in the USA who ate in fast food restaurants for ten years between 2003 and 2013.

Overall, the chart describes the maximum number of people who ate fast food for once or twice a month were observed in 2013 and the minimum ratio of people who ate fast food everyday were also seen in both 2013 and 2006.

The ratio of eating fast food daily was 4% in 2003, 3.5% both in 2006 and 2013 which is minimum frequency. While, the ratio of people eating several times a week suddenly escalated in 2003 at 17% and 20% in 2006 then decline in 2013 at 16%. Similarly the chart shows more fluctuation for the individuals who ate once a week in 2006 at the ratio of 34% less in 2013.

The maximum rate of eating fast food twice a month was 34.5% in 2013and less in 2006 at 25%. The individuals who ate only a few times a year was 15% in both 2006 and 2013 but less ratio in 2003. Then there are people who never ate fast food were also in the same range as were in everyday in between 2003 and 2013. The bar shows the minimum range in the year of 2003 for all the frequencies of fast food restaurants.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all parts of the task well by identifying key trends and making relevant comparisons across the years 2003, 2006, and 2013. The overview highlights notable features, such as the maximum eating frequency and the minimum daily ratios. However, some data points are slightly imprecise or confusingly stated, such as the description of the category 'never ate fast food'. Despite these minor flaws, the student successfully selects and reports the main features of the chart, satisfying the requirements for a Band 6.5 to 7.0. Given the solid coverage of data, a band score of 6.5 is appropriate.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay has a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction and body paragraphs. Cohesive devices are used to link ideas, such as 'Overall', 'While', 'Similarly', and 'Then'. However, paragraphing is somewhat weak, as the entire body of information is clumped together into one overly dense paragraph, and referencing is occasionally unclear (e.g., 'Then there are people who never ate fast food were also in the same range as were in everyday'). Because the logical progression is hindered by poor paragraphing and clunky transitions, the coherence matches the Band 6 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common terms such as 'escalated', 'fluctuation', and 'proportion'. However, there are notable word-choice and collocation errors, such as 'for once or twice a month were observed', 'ratio' used instead of 'percentage' or 'proportion' in places, and awkward phrasing like 'less ratio in 2003'. Spelling is generally acceptable, but the lexical inaccuracies occasionally create slight confusion for the reader. These features align well with the Band 6 descriptor for Lexical Resource.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over structure. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation lapses, such as missing prepositions or incorrect verb tenses ('then decline in 2013', '2013and less', 'The bar shows the minimum range'). Clauses are sometimes strung together awkwardly, like 'The individuals who ate only a few times a year was 15%', leading to subject-verb agreement issues. Because errors are noticeable and occasionally cause strain for the reader while still allowing the message to come through, a band score of 5.5 is warranted.

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

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