Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-18

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 5.5)

The line bar chart illustrates frequently USA peoples ate fast food in restaurants between 2003, 2006, and 2013. Peoples measured in percentages.

Overall, in all three years, a significantly higher proportion of Us population ate fast-food in restaurant either once a week or once or twice a month. In comparison, only minors proportion ate daily or never ate there.

It can be clearly observed that 31% to 33% peoples in Us ate restaurants once a week in both 2003 and 2006, although it shows slightly decrease to around 26% in 2013. Those eating there once or twice a month also represented significant proportion of the Us people in all this three years.

The first proportion dropped to 2003 with 30% to 25% in 2006, and then jumped to around 33% in 2013.

The proportion of those eat restaurants several times a week varied between 15% to 20%, while peoples who eat a few times a year showed moderate increase 13% to 15%. By contrast, people who eat every day or never, both are located around 5%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student successfully addresses the main features of the chart, reporting data for the years 2003, 2006, and 2013 accurately. An overview is provided, noting that eating fast food once a week or once/twice a month were the most common frequencies, while daily and never were the least common. Key comparisons are made, such as pointing out the drop in the once-a-week category from 31%-33% down to around 28% in 2013. However, there are some minor confusing phrasings in data reporting, such as 'The first proportion dropped to 2003 with 30% to 25% in 2006', which creates slight confusion over which category is being discussed. Overall, the core requirements of Task 1 are met, deserving a band score of 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organised into clear paragraphs, starting with an introduction, followed by an overall summary, and subsequent body paragraphs detailing specific frequencies. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Overall', 'In comparison', 'It can be clearly observed', and 'By contrast'. However, referencing and logical transitions are occasionally faulty, particularly in sentences like 'The first proportion dropped...', where the antecedent is unclear. Paragraphing is attempted appropriately, providing a coherent overall arrangement, but mechanical use of cohesive devices prevents a higher score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms like 'proportion', 'frequently', 'decrease', and 'varied'. However, there are numerous lexical and word-form errors throughout the text, such as 'line bar chart' (contradictory term), 'frequently USA peoples' (unnatural collocation and grammar), 'minors proportion', and 'peoples' used instead of 'people'. These errors do not completely impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score to a 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response includes a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'It can be clearly observed that 31% to 33% peoples in Us ate restaurants once a week...' However, grammatical accuracy is weak, with frequent errors in articles, prepositions, and verb forms (e.g., 'Us population ate fast-food in restaurant', 'those eat restaurants', 'people who eat every day or never, both are located'). While communication is generally maintained, the frequency of basic grammatical errors places this at band 5.0.

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