Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The following bar graph illustrates the frequency of consumption of fast food in resturants by residents of USA in 2003, 2006 and 2013.

Overall, we can observe that most of the people in the US consumed fast foods once a week and once or twice a month. Similarly, the percentage of people who consume fast food on a regular basis and individuals who never went to fast food resturants are relatively low.

Detailed analysis of the graph showcases the decrease in daily consumption of fast food as it was 4% in 2003 but decreased to only 3% in 2006 and remained constant in 2013. The same goes for individuals who never went to fast food resturant as it decreased from 5% to 4% during the same time period.On the other hand, its the exact opposite for residents who went few times a year as it increased from 13% to 15% also in the exact time period. Subsequently, the people who went to fast food restutants several times a week peaked at 20% in 2006 as it was 17% in 2003 and 16% in 2013.

Fuethermore, the percentage of people who went outside for eating once a week and once or twice a month have seen some fluctuations. The people who ate one per week peaked at 33% in 2006 as they were 31% in 2003 and 28% in 2013. As for individuals who consumed fast food once or twice a month, it peaked at 33% in 2013 as it was 30% in 2003 and 25% in 2006.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the chart and providing relevant comparisons across the three years (2003, 2006, and 2013). An adequate overview is provided in the second paragraph, highlighting that eating fast food 'once a week' and 'once or twice a month' were the most common frequencies. Specific data points are cited to support the description, such as the peak of 33% for weekly consumption in 2006 and monthly consumption in 2013. However, there are minor inaccuracies in data interpretation, such as stating that those who never went to fast food restaurants decreased from '5% to 4%', whereas the chart shows around 4.5% to 3.5%. Despite these minor data reading discrepancies, the task is well-covered.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The response is organized into logical paragraphs, beginning with an introduction, followed by an overview, and then detailed body paragraphs breaking down the categories. Cohesive devices are used to guide the reader through the data, such as 'Overall', 'Detailed analysis', 'On the other hand', and 'Subsequently'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different trends. However, some referencing is slightly awkward or mechanical, such as 'The same goes for individuals...' and 'its the exact opposite', which slightly detracts from natural flow, though logical progression is maintained throughout.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common lexical items such as 'consumption', 'fluctuations', 'constant', and 'peaked'. However, there are several spelling errors throughout the text, including 'resturants' instead of restaurants, and 'Fuethermore' instead of Furthermore. Additionally, phrasing like 'went outside for eating' is unnatural. These lexical limitations and spelling slips prevent the score from reaching a higher band, though communication is not impeded.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'The following bar graph illustrates...' and 'The people who ate one per week peaked at 33% in 2006 as they were 31% in 2003 and 28% in 2013.' There are several grammatical errors and awkward prepositions, such as 'residents of USA' (missing the article 'the'), 'ate one per week' (should be 'once'), and a punctuation error with a missing space ('period.On the other hand'). Control over grammar is fairly good, but the presence of recurring minor errors keeps the score at a band 6.0.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.