Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-17

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 chart compares the information how frequently people in the USA ate in fast food restaurants between 2003 and 2013.

overall it can be seen that the majority of people record in figure who ate once week and once or twice a month.and the least number of people ate everyday. and figure also show the proportion for people who never ate fast food through the period.

in 2003 largest proportion of people who once a week ate fast food recorded 33% while percentage slighlty increse to 34 by 2006 ,therefore after this period we seen a graduall decresed in 2013 to 27%. furthermore people who ate once or twice a month shows 30% in 2003 and thn declined to 25% in 2006, then again rose to 33% by 2013. it is noticeable that people who ate only a few times a year quite show simmilar results in 2003 under 15% , and remain15% by 2006,13.

people who ate several times a week showed by figure 17% in 2003 then steadily increased by 2006 to 20% and declined after this period to 16% in 2013. people who ate everyday and never eat across the time is the lowest figures.both are under 5% towards end of the time.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features and making comparisons across the categories and years. An overview is attempted at the beginning, noting that 'the majority of people record in figure who ate once week and once or twice a month.and the least number of people ate everyday.' However, the data points selected contain some slight inaccuracies or vague references (e.g., stating that 33% was recorded in 2003 for once a week, whereas the chart shows around 31%). Key trends are identified, such as the fluctuations in eating once or twice a month and the stability of those who never eat fast food. Overall, the response addresses the prompt adequately, fitting the Band 5.5 to 6.0 profile, though a clearer and more precise selection of data would elevate the score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The organisation of the text is somewhat hindered by a lack of standard punctuation, capitalisation, and paragraphing. The response consists of a single large block or poorly defined sentences where lowercase letters start sentences (e.g., 'overall it can be seen', 'in 2003 largest'). Cohesive devices are used, but they are often basic or mechanical, such as 'furthermore', 'then', and 'after this period'. Although there is a discernible overall progression moving from an introductory summary to specific body details, the lack of clear paragraph breaks and erratic punctuation make the logical structure difficult to follow at times. This corresponds to the Band 5.0 descriptor.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary to discuss the data, incorporating terms such as 'proportion', 'graduall decresed', and 'steadily increased'. However, there are notable spelling and word-formation errors throughout the text, including 'slighlty', 'increse', 'decresed', 'thn', and 'simmilar'. Less common lexical items are attempted but lack precision and accuracy. While the vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the general meaning of the chart, the frequency of spelling mistakes and awkward collocations (e.g., 'never eat across the time') limits the lexical score to a Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar and punctuation is weak. There are frequent errors in subject-verb agreement and article usage, such as 'largest proportion of people who once a week ate fast food recorded 33%' and 'people who ate everyday and never eat across the time is the lowest figures.' Punctuation is largely neglected, with missing periods, run-on sentences, and lowercase letters beginning new sentences. These errors cause some difficulty for the reader and prevent the response from achieving a higher band, placing it firmly at Band 5.0.

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

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