Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The bar charts compare how to civilians frequently goes restaurant at ate fast food too much during the 2003 to 2013.

Overall, In ten years period once or twice a month significant increases. Eating a fast food everyday accounted for the lowest point in this time.

To begin with, In 2003 people ate fast food every day around 4% then sightly fell to 3% and remained stable in next 8 years. In 2003 several times a week people ate fast food was at 16%, before surged to 20% in 2006 and suddenly decresed to 15%. Beyong this the figure for once a week experienced an upward trend, peaking at 33% in 2006 and fell to 27% in 2013.

In additionaly, people ate never fast food around 4% reamined unchanged. Futhermore people ate fast food a few times a year approximately 12% and next aome year he stabled. In 2003 people once or twicw a month they ate 30% fast foof then fell to 25% in 2006 and upward peaking at 33% in 2013.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features and making some relevant comparisons regarding the frequency of eating at fast food restaurants in the USA between 2003 and 2013. An overview is attempted, noting that once or twice a month saw significant changes and that eating fast food every day accounted for the lowest point. However, some ideas are under-developed or inadequately supported, and certain data points lack sufficient clarity or contain minor inaccuracies when compared against the visual data. The selection of data is generally relevant, but the overall presentation of trends could be sharper and more fully extended to reach a higher level.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The text exhibits a coherent overall arrangement, with a clear attempt to structure the response into introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty, and referencing is not always clear. Transition phrases such as 'To begin with', 'In additionaly', and 'Futhermore' are used, but logical progression between sentences occasionally breaks down due to awkward phrasing. Paragraphing is present, but the internal flow within paragraphs needs better management to ensure a smoother transition of ideas from one point to the next.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, providing a minimally sufficient range to describe the chart. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'upward trend' and 'remained stable', but these attempts are accompanied by noticeable inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and word form, such as 'decresed', 'Beyong this', and 'In additionaly'. Spelling errors and awkward lexical choices occasionally impede smooth communication, restricting the score to this level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though attempts at complex structures are frequently marred by structural errors. There are frequent grammatical errors in verb tenses, prepositions within grammatical patterns, and sentence construction, such as 'how to civilians frequently goes restaurant at ate fast food' and 'people ate fast food every day around 4% then sightly fell'. While punctuation is generally manageable, the density of grammatical slips across basic and complex sentences means errors persist, though they rarely completely obscure the core meaning.

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