Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-27

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 graph illustrates how citizens of United State eat processed food in restaurants over the ten-years of period between 2003 and 2013.

Overall, there are six types of categories those who eat in different time period. The highest trend holders are once a week and once or twice a month eater. Moreover, the least trend holders are daily eater and those who have never ate.

On the one hand, the highest frequency of eating junk food in restaurants by people are once a week and once or twice a month eater. Although both have experienced a lot, still once or twice a month eater are the most in the end of the period.

On the other hand, rest of the frequency of fast food eater have not experienced any major drastic changes over the period. However, the occurrence of daily eater and never eater stood below the 5%. Whereas several times a week eater where at below 20% and a few times a year eater where at 15% .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features and trends of the bar chart across the specified timeframe. An overview is provided, highlighting the highest and lowest categories. However, the data reporting lacks precision; phrases like 'Although both have experienced a lot' are vague and fail to cite specific percentages or comparative figures accurately. Furthermore, the student mischaracterizes 'processed food in restaurants' instead of 'fast food restaurants'. While the main features are identified, the lack of precise data points limits the development of ideas, placing this response securely at Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response is organized into four distinct paragraphs, creating a coherent overall arrangement. The student attempts to use logical connectors such as 'Overall', 'On the one hand', and 'On the other hand' to structure the essay. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For instance, referencing is weak in sentences like 'the rest of the frequency of fast food eater have not experienced any major drastic changes', and paragraph transitions feel abrupt. Paragraphing is present and generally appropriate, but the lack of fluid progression prevents the response from achieving a higher band.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items such as 'trend holders', 'frequency', and 'drastic changes'. However, there are notable inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'citizens of United State eat processed food', 'highest trend holders', and 'daily eater' instead of 'daily eaters'. Vocabulary usage is occasionally unnatural or repetitive. While meaning is generally conveyed, these lexical errors and limited flexibility restrict the score to Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing introductory clauses and subordinate structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly regarding subject-verb agreement and singular/plural consistency (e.g., 'once or twice a month eater are', 'several times a week eater where at'). Punctuation and article usage also show inaccuracies, such as 'United State' and missing articles. These errors occur regularly throughout the text, though they rarely impede overall communication, aligning the response with Band 5.5.

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

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