Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-26

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 bar chart compares the percentages of people who consumed fast food in restaurants in the USA over three periods 2003, 2006, and 2013.

Overall, the percentages of people ate processed food once a week and once or twice a month were consistently higher in every year than the other categories. There was fewer people who consumed fast food every day or never, while the figure for several times a week and a few times a year were relatively similar.

Eating fast food once a week and once or twice a month recorded significant higher percentages, in 2003, there was just over 30% of people consumed fast food, peaking to approximately 33% in 2006, before declining slightly to about 27.5% in 2006. The figure for eating once or twice a month started at exactly 30% in 2003, dropping by 5% in 2006, before increasing moderatly by about 7.5% in 2013.

In contrast, people who ate processed food every day or never were consisterly low. In every years, the percentage of people consumed fast food every day was the lowest, stooding just under 5%, whereas just 5% of people who never ate fast food in 2003, by 2006 and 2013, the percentage had dropped to around 4% in every year. Looking at the remaied two categories, eating several times a week started at just over 15% in 2003, peaking at 20% in 2006, before declining to around 16% in 2013. The figure for a few times a year was about 13% in 2003 and 15% in 2006 and 2013.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The candidate successfully addresses all parts of the task by providing an overview with salient trends and reporting key data from the bar chart. Main features, such as the dominance of eating once a week and once or twice a month, are highlighted and supported with figures. However, there are minor inaccuracies in data reporting; for example, the text states that consumption once a week declined to 'about 27.5% in 2006' (which actually refers to 2013), and there are minor confusions in tracking specific percentages across years. Despite these slight errors, the response presents a clear and adequate overview of the main trends. The band descriptor for Band 6.5 is well-matched, demonstrating a clear attempt to select and report main features.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response is arranged logically with a clear introduction, overview paragraph, and two body paragraphs detailing specific frequency categories. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as 'Overall', 'In contrast', and 'Looking at the remaned two categories', ensuring progression throughout the text. Paragraphing is used appropriately to group related ideas. However, referencing is occasionally imprecise, and some transitional links feel slightly mechanical. Overall arrangement is coherent, allowing the reader to follow the flow of information easily, fitting the criteria for Band 6.5.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, successfully incorporating terms like 'percentages', 'consistently higher', 'declining slightly', and 'moderatly'. There are several spelling and word-form errors, such as 'moderatly' instead of moderately, 'consisterly' instead of consistently, 'stooding' instead of standing, and 'remaied' instead of remaining. Furthermore, the repetitive use of 'percentages of people consumed fast food' indicates limitations in lexical flexibility. While these errors do not impede communication, they restrict the lexical score to Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The candidate attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including subordinate clauses introduced by 'while', 'before', and 'whereas'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, such as 'There was fewer people who consumed' (plural agreement error), 'in every years' (pluralization error), and 'whereas just 5% of people who never ate fast food in 2003, by 2006 and 2013, the percentage had dropped' (run-on/fragmented structure). While these errors do not completely obscure meaning, they occur frequently enough to prevent the score from reaching Band 6.5, making Band 6.0 a fair representation.

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.