Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-14

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 proportion of people visited the restaurants to eat fast food in the USA between year 2003 and 2013.

Overall, the proportion of every day and never visited the restaurants was very low in all years. Percentage of public visited once a week were significantly increased in year 2006 and their monthly visits increased in the year2013.

by 2006 and 2013, people mostly prefred to dine in restaurants for junk food at highest proportion (32%) ,in 2006 public prefered to go out once a week more compared to other years as in 2013 at 27% almost. In contrast, percentages of individuals who consumed fast food once or twice a month in 2013 at above 32%.

While, trends of going outside in a year to have junk food at lowesr proportion than other trends to go outside in 2006 and 2023 percentage remained same 15% that was low in year 2003 about 12%. Every day and never going for fast food consumption was remained lowest categories as remained at almost below 5%

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response attempts to summarise the main features of the chart showing fast-food consumption frequency between 2003 and 2013. The candidate successfully identifies some notable trends, such as the popularity of eating out once a week and the lower percentages for 'every day' and 'never'. However, the data presentation suffers from considerable confusion, inaccuracies, and poor data selection. For instance, the text claims that '2023' was surveyed (when the chart ends in 2013) and misinterprets several specific percentages, stating 'percentages of individuals who consumed fast food once or twice a month in 2013 at above 32%'. While an overview is attempted, the lack of precision in reporting the figures and minor omissions in comparing the full spread of data across all surveyed frequencies mean the response only partially satisfies the requirements of Task 1, corresponding to a band 5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The response is structured into four brief paragraphs, attempting an overall summary followed by body details. However, the logical progression is frequently disrupted by confusing transitions and unclear referencing. For instance, phrases like 'While, trends of going outside in a year...' abruptly link disparate ideas without clear logical ties. Cohesive devices are used awkwardly or inaccurately, and the paragraphing does not adequately group related data points. Referencing pronouns and time markers (such as mixing up 2003, 2006, 2013, and mentioning 2023) cause the reader to lose track of the argument. Overall arrangement shows some basic structural awareness, but cohesion is faulty and mechanical, placing this response firmly in the band 5 category.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The candidate demonstrates a limited and minimally adequate vocabulary range suitable for describing basic charts, employing terms like 'proportion', 'percentage', and 'consumers'. However, there are numerous inappropriate word choices and non-standard collocations throughout the text, such as 'people visited the restaurants', 'prefred' (preferred), and referring to restaurant meals as 'junk food'. Spelling errors ('prefred', 'lowesr') and awkward phrasing occur regularly. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey a general topic, the noticeable errors and restricted lexical variety mean it does not meet the criteria for a band 6, making band 5 a more accurate reflection of the lexical control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay displays a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple sentences and prone to frequent errors when attempting complex formulations. Examples of grammatical instability include 'Percentage of public visited once a week were significantly increased' (subject-verb agreement error and passive/active confusion) and 'Every day and never going for fast food consumption was remained lowest categories'. Punctuation is also problematic, with misplaced commas and missing periods. These frequent errors cause noticeable difficulty for the reader and distort meaning in places, which aligns with the band 5 descriptor for grammatical accuracy and range.

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