Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The bar chart illustrates data about fast food ate by individuals fro restaurants in the USA from 2003 to 2013.

Overall, highest of people are ate fast food at once a week or twice a month while few numbers of individuals are eat every day fast food from restaurants.

In 2003 and 2006, peoples who eat fast food every day was very few around 4-5% and individuals who eat several times a week were almost 15-20%.Fast food eat by people once a week were nearly same in both the year at 32-33%. Simillarly, individulas who eat fast food at once or twice a month was 25 to 30%. some people eat few times a year was very less at 13-15%

In 2013, the numbers of people who eat daily fast food and those who eat never fast food was same as 2006 at 4% both are at same percentage. the people eat fast food several times a week at 16% also those people who eat once a week was around 27%. The people eat fast food once or twice a month were incresed from 2006 at 27%. those individuals eat few times a year was same as 2006 at 15%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The student attempts to address the task by summarising the main features of the bar chart regarding the frequency of eating fast food in the USA between 2003 and 2013. An overview is attempted, noting that most people ate fast food once a week or twice a month, while few ate it every day. However, the response contains several inaccuracies and generalisations when reporting specific data points. For instance, the student states that the percentage for 'once a week' in 2003 and 2006 was '32-33%', whereas the chart shows 31% and 33% respectively. Additionally, some data points are misreported or vague, such as claiming that daily eaters and never eaters were the same in 2013 (4% and 3.5% respectively). The selection of features is somewhat incomplete, and the lack of precision in data reporting limits the effectiveness of the task fulfillment, placing it firmly at a Band 5.0 level.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response is organised into four paragraphs, including an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs covering different time periods. However, the logical progression is frequently disrupted by awkward transitions and poor sentence linking. Cohesive devices are either missing or misused, resulting in a mechanical and disjointed flow. For example, phrases like 'In 2003 and 2006' group years together rather than contrasting them effectively, and sentences often begin abruptly without clear cohesive links (e.g., 'Fast food eat by people once a week were...'). Paragraphing is attempted, but internal cohesion within the paragraphs is weak, and referencing is occasionally unclear. This corresponds to the Band 5.0 descriptor for logical organisation and cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is basic, repetitive, and heavily relies on words directly lifted from the prompt (e.g., 'fast food', 'restaurants', 'people'). There are numerous severe word-formation and collocation errors, such as 'fast food ate by individuals' instead of 'fast food consumed by individuals', 'highest of people are ate fast food', and 'very less' instead of 'very low'. Spelling and word choice errors are frequent and occasionally impede communication, requiring the reader to work harder to understand the intended meaning. The range of vocabulary is limited and inadequate for a higher band score, restricting it to Band 4.5, which rounds to Band 5.0 based on general performance.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.0

The response demonstrates a very limited range of grammatical structures. Most complex sentence attempts are heavily flawed and ungrammatical. There are persistent errors in subject-verb agreement, tense usage, and voice (e.g., 'peoples who eat', 'individuals who eat fast food at once or twice a month was', 'the numbers of people who eat daily fast food... was same'). Punctuation is also erratic, with missing commas and poorly structured clauses. While simple sentences are sometimes understandable, the high frequency of grammatical errors causes constant difficulty for the reader and distorts meaning in several places, aligning with the Band 4.0 descriptor.

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

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