Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-16

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)

This graph illustrates the frequency of people eating fast food in restaurants between the years 2003 and 2013.

In 2003, people who were eating out on a regular basis were under five per cent, which was the lowest and most people were eating out once a week in the same year,which was the highest, just over 30 per cent.

In the year 2006, people eating out once a week had the highest percentage, which was under 35 per cent. While people in 2013 were mostly eating out once or twice in a month were at peak.

People who never ate outside were pretty low since 2003 till 2013 under five percent .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.5

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, containing only 112 words. Because of this severe under-length, the task cannot be fully developed. While the student attempts to summarise the overall chart by mentioning high and low points (such as 'once a week' being the highest in 2003 and 2006, and 'never' being under five per cent), the overview is incomplete, missing key comparisons and data trends across the decade. Several data points are vaguely reported (e.g., 'once or twice in a month were at peak' in 2013). Consequently, Task Achievement is penalised for insufficient length and partial coverage of the visual data.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is divided into very short paragraphs, some consisting of only a single sentence, which disrupts the logical flow and progression. Cohesive devices are minimal and basic ('In 2003', 'In the year 2006', 'While'). Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as the dangling clause 'While people in 2013 were mostly eating out once or twice in a month were at peak,' which lacks a clear main clause. Although there is a discernible attempt to structure the response chronologically, the overall arrangement is disjointed and lacks sophisticated paragraphing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, relying heavily on phrases like 'eating out', 'highest', and 'percentage'. There are some awkward collocations and word choices, such as 'people who were eating out on a regular basis' and 'people who never ate outside were pretty low'. The range of vocabulary is limited and minimally adequate for the task, with few attempts at less common lexical items appropriate for an academic report.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response displays a very limited range of grammatical structures. Most sentences are simple or poorly constructed complex forms. There are noticeable grammatical errors, particularly with clause structures and verb forms, such as 'While people in 2013 were mostly eating out once or twice in a month were at peak,' which contains a double verb error. Punctuation is also faulty in places, such as missing spaces after commas. These frequent structural errors can cause some difficulty for the reader.

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

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