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 depicted chart shows the percentage of people having fast food in restaurants in
USA from 2003 to 2013.
We see in 2003 the percentage of people having fast food in restaurants everyday was about 4 percent as compared to other years.The ratio of people having fast food several times in a week reaches to about 17 percent . Similarly the ratio of people having fast food once in a week reached to about 31 percent .The ratio of visiting restaurants once or twice in a month declined to 29 percent.While the percentage of people visiting restaurants for a few time in a year declined to about 12 percent.
We see that in 2003 to 2013 ,the ratio of people visiting restaurants remained high in almost all years with decline in 2013.The ratio of people who never visited restaurants remained 4 to 5 percent in 2013 .
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response attempts to summarize the chart showing fast-food consumption frequencies in the USA between 2003 and 2013, citing several data points such as 'about 4 percent' for everyday consumption and '31 percent' for once a week in 2003. However, the overview is missing, and the description of 2013 data lacks a clear comparative structure, merely mentioning a decline and a specific percentage for those who never visited. Furthermore, the length requirement has not been met, as the response falls short of the 150-word minimum by 3 words, containing only 147 words. This impacts the overall fulfillment of the task requirements, placing it firmly at a Band 5.0 level.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The response exhibits basic organization, grouping some information by year and frequency categories. However, the paragraphing is poor, resulting in a clumped block of text for the body paragraphs that lacks a clear overall progression. Cohesive devices are minimal and sometimes repetitive, relying heavily on phrases like 'The ratio of people' starting successive sentences. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and the lack of a proper introductory overview and conclusion limits the coherence of the piece. Overall, the structural progression is disjointed, matching the criteria for a Band 5.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is adequate to convey basic data points from the chart, utilizing terms such as 'percentage', 'ratio', 'declined', and 'restaurants'. However, the range of vocabulary is quite limited and repetitive, with the phrase 'ratio of people having fast food' repeated multiple times. There are also inappropriate collocations and lexical choices, such as 'having fast food in restaurants everyday' instead of 'eating at fast-food restaurants daily' and 'for a few time in a year' instead of 'a few times a year'. These noticeable errors and limited lexical range align with a Band 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'We see in 2003 the percentage... as compared to other years' and 'While the percentage of people visiting... declined to about 12 percent'. However, the control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are several punctuation and spacing errors, such as missing spaces after periods (e.g., 'years.The ratio'), and awkward phrasing like 'reaches to about 17 percent' instead of the past tense 'reached'. While communication is not entirely impeded, frequent grammatical inaccuracies and limitations in sentence structures place this performance at a Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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