Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-24

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 chart compares the frequency of eating at fast food restaurants by the people of USA in three different years 2003,2006 and 2013 respectively.

Overall, people went to the restaurants once a week and once or twice in a month had the largest percentage in all the years. In terms of every and never remain the lowest in figures.

It is clear that, in 2006 had the highest figures in all categories also peaked in once a week with percentage nearly about 35% while in terms of once or twice in a month had similar figure in the year 2013.

On the other hand, a few times in a year had similar proportion in the year 2006 and 2013 with 15% but it was almost 3% fewer for the year 2003. Everyday and Never had the smallest figure in all the years with below 5%. In several times a week had 20% on the year 2006 but it drops about 4% in the year 2013.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student addresses all parts of the task by selecting and reporting the main features of the bar chart, making relevant comparisons across the years 2003, 2006, and 2013. An overview is attempted, identifying that eating out 'once a week' and 'once or twice a month' were the most frequent categories, while 'every day' and 'never' remained the lowest. However, the overview is somewhat fragmented and lacks precision. While key data points are mentioned, such as the peak in 2006 for 'once a week' at nearly 35%, some sentences contain awkward phrasing and minor misinterpretations of the data, which places this response comfortably at Band 6.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a coherent overall arrangement and is divided into logical paragraphs, starting with an introduction and overview, followed by body details. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Overall', 'It is clear that', and 'On the other hand', but some referencing and linking are mechanical or imprecise. For example, 'In terms of every and never remain the lowest' suffers from structural awkwardness. Paragraphing is present and adequate for a short report, but transitions between ideas occasionally feel disjointed, restricting the score to Band 6.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms related to frequency and statistics, such as 'proportion', 'percentage', and 'categories'. However, there are notable lexical errors and unnatural word choices throughout the text, such as 'once or twice in a month' instead of 'once or twice a month', and 'Everyday and Never had the smallest figure' where 'Every day' is used as a noun phrase. Spelling is generally accurate, but the precision and flexibility required for higher bands are missing, making Band 6 an appropriate reflection of the student's lexical control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar is inconsistent. There are several grammatical errors and awkward clause structures, such as 'people went to the restaurants once a week and once or twice in a month had the largest percentage' (missing relative pronoun/verb) and 'in 2006 had the highest figures' (missing subject). Another error is 'In several times a week had 20% on the year 2006 but it drops about 4%', which mixes tense and incorrect prepositions ('on the year' instead of 'in the year'). These errors occasionally impede smooth reading, justifying a Band 5.0.

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

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