Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

The bar chart illustrates the consumption of fast food in restaurants among Americans in 2003, 2006 and 2013.

Overall, it can be seen that people who consumed fast food once a week and once or twice a month is largest, while the least percentage of consumption of fast food on a daily basis was recorded.

The majority of the Americans ate fast food once a week or once or twice a month. People consuming fast food once a week in 2003 were just over 25%, while in 2006 its consumption increased before decreasing significantly to 27% of people. However, the percentage of people eating fast food once or twice a month was 30% at the beginning of the period and increased substantially to 33% by the end.

Notably, the percentages of people eating fast food every day and never were almost the same, with almost 4-5% in 2003, decreasing by 1 percentage point in the following year and eventually ended up at 2% and 4% respectively.

The proportions of people eating fast food several times a week increased substantially from 17% to 20% in 2006, declining to just over 15% by 2013, whereas the proportion consuming a few times a year rose from almost 13% to 15% in 2006 and remained stable by the end of period.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The student provides a clear overview of the main trends shown in the chart, successfully identifying the most popular and least popular frequencies of fast food consumption. Key features are reported, such as the initial data points and the figures for 2003, 2006, and 2013, with appropriate comparisons made across categories. For instance, the response correctly contrasts the high percentages of people eating fast food once a week with the minimal percentages for daily consumption. However, some data points lack precise framing or contain minor omissions in the detailed body paragraphs, which prevents it from reaching a higher band. Overall, the task is well addressed with relevant information selected and presented.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is organised logically into an introduction, an overview paragraph, and three body paragraphs detailing specific trends. Cohesive devices are used to guide the reader through the data, such as 'Overall, it can be seen that', 'However', and 'Notably'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different categories of data. However, there are some minor cohesive issues, such as referencing errors ('people... is largest' where plural agreement is missing) and mechanical transitions that slightly affect the flow. Nevertheless, the progression of ideas is clear throughout the response, and the overall arrangement is coherent.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for an Academic Task 1 response, using appropriate terms such as 'consumption', 'proportion', 'substantially', and 'percentage'. Less common lexical items are attempted with varying success ('decreased significantly', 'rose from almost 13%'). However, there are some lexical inaccuracies and collocation issues, most notably in the overview where the grammar-vocabulary interface fails ('people... is largest' instead of 'proportion is the largest') and phrasing like 'in the following year' when referring to data spanning 2003, 2006, and 2013. Despite these minor limitations, the vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main points clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and subordinate structures like 'while the least percentage... was recorded' and 'People consuming fast food once a week in 2003 were just over 25%'. There are several grammatical errors present, particularly with subject-verb agreement ('people who consumed... is largest') and tense consistency, as well as vague temporal references ('in the following year' when the chart jumps from 2003 to 2006). Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while these errors are noticeable, they do not impede overall communication. The command of grammar aligns well with the requirements of a Band 6.

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

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