Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-19

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 bar graph illustrates the frequency of eating at fast food restaurants among people in the USA from 2003 to 2013. Overall, it is noticeable that eating fast food once a week showed the highest figure in 2006, while eating fast food once or twice in month recorded the highest number of people in 2013.

Turning to the details, in 2003, people who ate fast food once a week and once or twice a month accounted for approximately 32% and 30% respectively. Furthermore, people who visited a few times in a year and several times in a week recorded at around 12% and 17%. Moreover, In 2006, eating fast food in restaurants recorded 32% people once a week, whereas 25% of people showed eating fast food once or twice in a month. Subsequently, several times in a week visitors at restaurants recorded 20% in the USA. Lastly, in 2013, the number of people who visited once or twice in a month witnessed the highest figure over the period. People who visited everyday and those who never came recorded the lowest percentage throughout the period.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by providing a clear overview and reporting the main features of the data. For instance, the overview correctly highlights the shifts in highest frequencies between 2006 and 2013, such as 'eating fast food once a week showed the highest figure in 2006, while eating fast food once or twice in month recorded the highest number of people in 2013.' The body paragraphs effectively select and compare specific data points from the chart, like the percentages for 2003 and 2006. However, there are minor inaccuracies in data reporting, such as stating that people eating once a week accounted for 32% in 2003 when the chart shows approximately 31%, and minor typos in prepositions (e.g., 'once or twice in month'). Despite these minor flaws, the key trends and comparisons are well covered, earning a solid Band 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is logically organized with a clear overall progression. It begins with an introduction and overview, followed by well-sequenced body details, moving chronologically from 2003 through 2006 to 2013. Cohesive devices such as 'Turning to the details', 'Furthermore', 'Moreover', and 'Subsequently' are used to structure the text, although some devices feel slightly mechanical or repetitive in their placement. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction and overview from the detailed body points. Referencing is generally clear, though minor improvements in linking phrases would enhance the overall flow. This performance aligns comfortably with the Band 6.0 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms such as 'illustrates', 'frequency', 'accounted for', and 'percentage'. There are some attempts to use less common vocabulary and appropriate paraphrasing of the prompt. However, there are notable word-choice and collocation errors throughout the response, such as 'once or twice in month' instead of 'once or twice a month', 'a few times in a year' instead of 'a few times a year', and 'visited everyday and those who never came' when referring to eating habits rather than physical visits. While these errors do not impede communication, they restrict the lexical score to Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating control over basic structures and attempting more elaborate dependent clauses, such as 'people who ate fast food once a week and once or twice a month accounted for approximately 32%'. There are some grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, such as 'people who visited a few times in a year and several times in a week recorded at around 12% and 17%' (where the verb 'recorded' is used intransitively incorrectly) and '25% of people showed eating fast food'. Punctuation is generally sound, and errors rarely impede communication, placing the response firmly at Band 6.0.

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

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