Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-03

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 diagram illustrate the percentage of people of eating at fast food restaurent in USA over the period of time from 2003 to 2013.

Overall, people of USA were often eating everyday at fast food restaurent .By contrast, most of the people of USA went out for eating at fast food restaurent at least once a week or once or twice a month.

In 2003, the rate of people below 5 percent that went out for restaurent everyday or never .Meanwhile , about 31 % and 13% of people who ate fast food at restaurent was respectively once a week or a few times a year.

In 2013, more than 15% of people were went out for restaurent several times a week . And 25% of people loved to ate outside their house in restaurents.

In 2006 , compare to 2003 and 2013 , it showed the highest frequency of people ate in restaurent in USA most of them , several times a week or once a week .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The response addresses the task only partially. While it attempts to report on the chart by mentioning some categories such as eating habits in 2003, 2013, and 2006, the selection of information is confusing and inaccurate. For instance, the overview incorrectly claims that people in the USA were often eating every day at fast food restaurants, whereas the data clearly shows that daily consumption was the lowest category at around three to four percent. Furthermore, the details provided are sparse, repetitive, and contain misread figures, such as stating that 'more than 15% of people were went out for restaurent several times a week' in 2013 when the actual figure was 16%, but missing major trends entirely. To improve, you need to provide a more accurate overview of the main trends without making false generalizations, and select key features correctly from the visual data.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is some basic organisation in the response, but it lacks a clear overall progression. The essay is divided into paragraphs, which is a positive start, but the logical flow between and within sentences is frequently disrupted. For example, jumping abruptly between years without clear comparative structures makes the relationships in the data hard to follow. Cohesive devices are used in a very limited and sometimes mechanical way, such as 'In 2003', 'In 2013', and 'In 2006', but referencing is not always clear, and sentences often feel disconnected. To achieve a higher band, you should ensure that your ideas are logically sequenced with smoother transitions, and use a wider variety of cohesive devices to link your points effectively throughout the text.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The lexical resource is limited and minimally adequate for the task. You use basic vocabulary related to the topic, such as 'people', 'eating', and 'fast food restaurants', but there are noticeable errors in word choice, spelling, and word formation that cause some difficulty for the reader. For example, 'restaurent' is misspelled throughout, and phraseology such as 'rate of people below 5 percent that went out for restaurent' or 'loved to ate outside' is unnatural and inaccurate. There are also issues with word forms, such as 'diagram' instead of 'chart'. To improve, you should expand your vocabulary to include more precise terms for describing data trends, such as 'proportion', 'percentage', or 'fluuctuate', and pay closer attention to standard spelling and collocation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response shows a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying mostly on simple sentences with frequent errors. Attempts at more complex structures are often faulty and contain severe structural issues. Frequent errors include tense and verb form mistakes, such as 'The bar diagram illustrate', 'were went out', and 'loved to ate', as well as problems with prepositions and articles. For instance, writing 'people of USA' instead of 'people in the USA' and omitting necessary articles or misplacing modifiers. These frequent errors can cause difficulty for the reader and obscure the meaning of your sentences. To reach a higher band, you need to demonstrate better control over basic sentence construction, ensure correct verb agreements and tense consistency, and reduce the frequency of grammatical mistakes.

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

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