Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)
This image describes about how much people ate at fast food restaurants in USA in years between [redacted phone].
Once a week visitors are at the top of list followed closely by once a month or every fortnight and people who never visits fast food restaurants sits at the bottom.
Furthermore, Every day visitors are around 4% in 2003 and 3% in 2006 and 2013.
Several times a week visitors are around 17% in 2003 increases to 20% in 2006 and decreases to 16% in 2013. While who visits once a week are 32% in 2003 and in 2006 hits the to[p with 33% and remains 28% in 2013. Once or twice a month visitors are 30% in 2003, 25% in 2006 and 33% in 2013. A few times a year visitors are 13% in 2003,15% in 2006 and 2013. Whereas who never visits the resturant in their life are 5% in 2003 and remains 4% in 2006 and 2013.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response attempts to cover the main features of the chart, noting categories like 'once a week' and 'every day' across the years 2003 to 2013. However, there is no proper introduction or overview statement outlining the overall trends, which limits the score for Task Achievement. While the student provides several specific data points (e.g., 'Every day visitors are around 4% in 2003'), some data citations contain minor inaccuracies or awkward phrasing, such as 'hits the top with 33% and remains 28% in 2013'. The report fulfills the basic requirements of summarising the data and exceeds the word count, but the lack of an overarching summary and a somewhat disjointed selection of features keeps it at a Band 5.5.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The response exhibits some basic organisation, dividing the overview from the body details, but paragraphing is poorly handled with single-sentence paragraphs and abrupt transitions. Cohesive devices are minimal or repetitive; phrases like 'Furthermore' are used, but overall progression between sentences feels mechanical. For instance, jumping from 'Once a week visitors are at the top...' directly into 'Furthermore, Every day visitors are around...' lacks smooth logical connection. Pronoun referencing is occasionally unclear, such as 'While who visits once a week are...'. These organisational and cohesion limitations place this criterion at a Band 5.0.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The lexical range is quite limited and repetitive, relying heavily on phrases like 'visitors are' and 'in 2003, 2006 and 2013'. There are noticeable inappropriate word choices and collocations, such as writing 'once a month or every fortnight' when the chart specifically denotes 'Once or twice a month', and 'never visits the resturant in their life' instead of 'never ate at fast food restaurants'. Spelling errors are also present, notably 'resturant'. While the basic meaning remains understandable, the lack of a flexible vocabulary range and frequent lexical awkwardness restrict the score to Band 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response demonstrates a limited range of sentence structures, relying mostly on simple or faulty complex sentences. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. For example, the opening sentence 'This image describes about how much people ate...' contains an unnecessary preposition ('describes about'), and 'While who visits once a week are...' is grammatically incomplete and confusing. Subject-verb agreement issues also appear, such as 'people who never visits'. Although some simple sentences are formed correctly, the accumulation of structural inaccuracies impacts readability and aligns with Band 5.0 descriptors.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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