Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-01

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 graph illustrates how frequently individual in the USA ate in fast food restaurant netween the year 2003 and 2013.

Overall, it is clear that most amount of people eat once a week or twice a month in fast food restaurant over a decade and all over the 10 years the citizen who eat every day or never eaten in a fast food restaurant are very less.

People who eat every day in fast food restaurant are 4% in 2003 and 3% in 2006 and 2013. 17% of population eat several times a week from fast food restaurant in 2003 which show a slight increase of 20% in 2006 and in the year 2013 16% of peoples wat there. The precentage of people usually eat once ina week in restaurant as 2% in 2003, 33% in 2006 and 28% in 2013.People who prefer eating in fast food restaurant mostly, twice a month are 30% in 2003, then it decline about by 5% and at the ending of 2013, 33% eat there. The amount of people who has never ate anything from fast food restaurant are around 5% over the years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response addresses the task only partially by attempting to summarise the main features and trends of the bar chart, but the selection of data is erratic and contains several inaccuracies. While an overview is attempted, it lacks precision and is poorly integrated into the response. For instance, the student states that the percentage for eating once a week was '2%' in 2003, which misreads the chart where the actual figure is around 31%. Similarly, the data points for other years and categories are frequently misreported or vague, such as claiming that the percentage for never eating fast food is 'around 5% over the years'. Ideas are limited and under-developed, with mechanical listing of figures rather than a cohesive reporting of significant trends. To reach a higher band, the student must accurately extract and report key data from the visual prompt, ensure the overview captures the most salient trends clearly, and avoid data misreadings.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some organisation in the response, beginning with an introductory sentence followed by an overview and body details, but there is no clear overall progression. The essay is presented in a single, block-like paragraph after the introduction, which hinders readability and shows a lack of appropriate paragraphing. Cohesive devices are minimal and sometimes repetitive or inaccurate, relying heavily on simple time markers like 'in 2003', 'in 2006', and 'in the year 2013'. Referencing is occasionally unclear, making it difficult for the reader to follow the flow of information smoothly. To improve coherence and cohesion, the student should group related data into logical paragraphs, such as separating high frequencies from low ones, and use a wider variety of accurate cohesive links to guide the reader through comparisons.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate for the task. The student attempts some topic-specific vocabulary related to frequency and food, such as 'fast food restaurants', 'several times a week', and 'percentage', but encounters noticeable errors in word choice, form, and spelling that occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. Examples include writing 'individual' instead of 'individuals', 'netween' instead of 'between', 'peoples' instead of 'people', and 'wat' instead of 'eat'. There are also awkward phrasings like 'citizen who eat every day' and 'the ending of 2013'. To progress to a higher band, the writer needs to expand their lexical repertoire, use word forms accurately, and pay closer attention to spelling and natural collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response displays a limited range of grammatical structures, relying mostly on simple sentences with frequent errors in complex constructions and basic grammatical rules. There are noticeable issues with subject-verb agreement and plurals, such as 'most amount of people eat', 'the citizen who eat', and 'The percentage of people usually eat'. Articles are also frequently misused or omitted, as seen in 'in fast food restaurant' and 'in restaurant as 2%'. Furthermore, tense usage is inconsistent when shifting between past data and general statements. Frequent errors of this nature cause some difficulty for the reader and reflect a restricted control over grammar and punctuation. To achieve a higher score, the student must demonstrate a better mix of error-free simple and complex sentences, ensuring correct subject-verb agreement and article usage.

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

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