Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The chart illustrates the percentage of people and frequency of their eating at a fast food restaurants, from 2003 to 2013.

Overall, mostly people visits the fast food restaurants, only once a week and, once or twice a month in all the years.

Initially, in the year 2003, more individuals went to restaurants everyday (4%) as compared to 2006 and 2013. In 2006, 20% people went to the restaurants, several times a week. While the visitors who visits once a week was most in 2006 (33%), and it was same amount as the most visitors for once or twice a month in 2013.

For once a week, visitors in 2003 was 4% more than the visitors in 2013. Ones, who visits once or twice a month, 2003 and 2006 visitors have a difference of 5%. People who goes to fast food restaurant a few times a year, were of same amount in 2006 and 2013 (15%). Meanwhile, people who never visits the restaurant showed a same pattern as the people who visits a few times a year, but with only 4% people.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student attempts to address the task by reporting several features from the bar chart regarding fast food consumption in the USA between 2003 and 2013. An overview is attempted in the second paragraph, stating that most people visit fast food restaurants once a week or once or twice a month. However, the selection of data points is somewhat fragmented, and the comparisons lack clarity and structure. There are minor inaccuracies in reporting specific details, such as misinterpreting the patterns or mixing up percentages, though general trends are touched upon. To reach a higher band, the response should provide a more cohesive and comprehensive overview of the main trends and make more precise, structured comparisons across the categories rather than listing isolated data points.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response is organised into four paragraphs, including a brief introduction and an overview. However, the logical progression within and between paragraphs is disrupted by awkward referencing and repetitive phrasing. Cohesive devices are used mechanically or incorrectly, such as the frequent use of 'while' and 'meanwhile' without proper clause structures. Pronouns and referencing (e.g., 'Ones, who visits once...') are occasionally unclear, making the flow bumpy. Paragraphing is present, but the internal structuring of information lacks a smooth logical flow. Improving the use of transition signals and ensuring clearer referencing would significantly enhance the overall coherence of the writing.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for basic communication but is heavily restricted and repetitive. Phrases such as 'percentage of people', 'eating at a fast food restaurants', and 'visitors who visits' demonstrate limited lexical flexibility and minor word choice errors. There are frequent grammatical-lexical slips, such as 'mostly people visits', where parts of speech are confused. Less common vocabulary is rarely attempted, and when it is, it is often inaccurate. To achieve a higher band score, the student needs to incorporate a wider variety of synonyms, precise topic-specific terminology related to data representation (e.g., 'proportion', 'demographic', 'fluctuate'), and ensure correct word forms and collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but grammatical accuracy is quite low. There are frequent errors in subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'mostly people visits', 'visitors... was most'), article usage (e.g., 'in the year 2003', 'a fast food restaurants'), and tense consistency. Complex sentences are frequently marred by structural errors and punctuation slips, which can occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. While the meaning remains mostly discernible, the high frequency of basic grammatical errors prevents the response from achieving a higher score. Greater attention to basic grammar rules, subject-verb concord, and correct pluralisation is strongly recommended.

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.