Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-29

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 graph illustrates the frequency of eating at junk food restaurants among youngsters in the USA for three years; 2003, 2006, 2013.

Overall, individuals eating junk food items once a week had the highest figure in 2006. However, this figure was comparatively the lowest in 2003 and 2013.

In 2003, once or twice a month stood at 30%, while around 32% who ate once a week had the highest proportion of people. In addition, every day and never eating fast food accounted for approximately 4% and 5% respectively. In 2006, this figure stood at around 7% collectively. On the other hand, once a week had the highest percentage at around 38%. Several times a week and once or twice a month accounted for 20% and 25% respectively.

Turning to the year 2013, the range of everyday eating fast food was lower than never consuming fast food. Once or twice a month stood at around 33%; that was the highest frequency. While once a week and several times a week stood at approximately 27% and 16% respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The student successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the fast food consumption chart across the three given years (2003, 2006, and 2013). An overview is provided, noting the peak category for eating once a week, although the overview has some minor inaccuracies regarding comparative extremes. Key data points such as the 30% to 33% figures for once or twice a month and the peak once-a-week figures are appropriately cited and compared. However, there are some minor misinterpretations of the visual data, such as stating that eating once a week had the lowest figure in 2003 and 2013 (when in fact it remained one of the highest categories). Overall, the response addresses the prompt adequately, earning a Band 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response is arranged coherently with a clear overall progression from the introductory paragraph to the body paragraphs and the overview. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different years and categories. Cohesive devices are employed to connect ideas, such as "In addition", "On the other hand", and "Turning to the year 2013", though some referencing is slightly awkward or mechanical. For instance, the transition "In 2006, this figure stood at around 7% collectively" lacks a clear antecedent. Despite these minor cohesive slips, the logical organization is clear throughout, fulfilling the requirements for Band 6.5.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms such as "frequency", "proportion", "percentage", and "consumption". There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, though paraphrase choices like "junk food restaurants" slightly alter the exact terminology of the prompt ("fast food restaurants"). Some word choice and collocation inaccuracies are present, such as "the range of everyday eating fast food was lower than never consuming fast food", which sounds somewhat unnatural. Spelling is generally accurate, and vocabulary errors do not impede communication, placing this securely at Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures throughout the response, including subordinate clauses and comparative structures. There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, such as "while around 32% who ate once a week had the highest proportion of people", which results in a fragmented sentence structure. Another error appears in "In 2006, this figure stood at around 7% collectively", where the referent is unclear and the calculation is imprecise. Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while errors occur, they rarely impede overall comprehension. This performance aligns with the Band 6.0 descriptors.

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