Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-30

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 shows how frequently people in the USA ate at fast food restaurants in 2003,2006 and 2013.

Overall, most people ate fast food once week or once or twice a month. very few people ate fast food very day or never ate it.

In 2003, about 31% of people ate the fast food once a week, while 30 % ate it once or twice a month. Around 17 % ate fast food several times a week. only about 4 % ate it every day, and approximately 5 % never fast food. In 2006 the highest figure was for people who ate fast food once a week, at about 32%. Around 23% ate it once or twice a month, while 20% ate it several times a week. About 3% ate fast food every day. In 2013 eating fast food once or twice a month was the most common, at approximately 33% About 26% ate it once a week and 16 % ate it several times a week. The figures for eating every day and never eating fast food were both very low at around 2-4%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The student successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features and trends of the bar chart and making appropriate comparisons across the three years. The overview effectively captures the general patterns, noting that most people ate fast food 'once a week' or 'once or twice a month', while extremes like 'every day' or 'never' were rare. Key data points are accurately cited, such as the peak of 33% for once-a-month consumption in 2013 and the 31% figure for once-a-week in 2003. Minor variations in numbers compared to the raw data (e.g., reporting 32% instead of 33% for 2006) do not detract from the overall accurate representation of the visual information. The response fully satisfies the requirements for Task Achievement at this level.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The text presents a clear logical organisation, beginning with an introductory paraphrase, followed by an overview paragraph, and concluding with a detailed body paragraph. Cohesive devices are used adequately to connect ideas, such as 'Overall', 'while', and 'In 2003'. However, paragraphing could be improved by separating the detailed year-by-year data into distinct paragraphs rather than clumping all details into one dense block of text. Referencing is generally clear, though paragraph structures remain somewhat basic. Cohesion overall is sufficiently clear to ensure smooth progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating topic-specific terms such as 'frequency', 'fast food restaurants', 'several times a week', and 'once or twice a month'. There are a few noticeable lexical and mechanical errors, such as 'once week' instead of 'once a week', 'very day' instead of 'every day', and omitting prepositions ('never fast food'). Less common vocabulary is attempted with limited success, and occasional spelling or word-choice inaccuracies occur, but these do not impede overall communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilising subordinate clauses such as 'while 30 % ate it once or twice a month' and 'people who ate fast food once a week'. There are several grammatical and punctuation errors throughout the text, including missing capitalisation ('In 2006 the highest...', 'In 2013 eating...'), missing spaces or awkward spacing around percentages (e.g., '30 %', '17 %'), and omitted verbs (e.g., 'never fast food'). Despite these frequent minor errors in grammar and punctuation, the sentence structures remain reasonably clear and rarely impede communication.

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