Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)
The bar graph illustrates how usually individuals in the USA ate fast food meal in resturants over the last one decade from 2003 to 2013.
Overall, in USA the highest percentage of individuals who ate once or twice a month and once a week in a resturant, whereas everyday and never held the lowest percentage over the same period.
In 2003, individuals who ate everyday had the approximately 4% individuals, while several times a week held nearly 17%. However, once a week shared the highest amount percenatage which is aroudn 31%, where once or twice a month accounted for 30%. Further, a few times a year who ate is around 13% and who actually who never eaten in fast food restuarant accounted for 5% people.
Coversely, in 2006 and 2013 almost shared the same amount of percentages in few categories, whereas roughly 2.5% individuals who ate at the resturant once a week shared the similar percenatge. However , in 2006 several times a week stood at 20%, while nearly 16% individuals ate in 2013. Furthermore, once a week shared approximately 32.5% in 2006 and in 2013 it was around 27%. In addition, once or twice a week 25% ate in 2006, while 32.5% ate in 2013. However, a few times a year and never category shared the same amount of percentage in 2006 and 2013, which was 15% for few times a week and roughly 3% for the people who never ate in 2006 and 2013.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response addresses the task partially by attempting to summarise the main features of the chart, providing an overview and data points for the years 2003, 2006, and 2013. However, the overview is grammatically incomplete and lacks clarity regarding overall trends. Furthermore, some of the data points reported contain inaccuracies or confusing phrasing, such as mentioning 'individuals who ate everyday had the approximately 4% individuals' and mixing up percentages for categories across the years. The selection of data is somewhat mechanical, listing figures without fully synthesizing or drawing all relevant comparisons between the three years, which limits the development of the response.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response demonstrates some organisation with clear paragraphing, dividing the introduction, overview, and body paragraphs for different years. However, there is no clear overall progression, and the transitions between sentences feel disjointed at times. Cohesive devices are used repetitively or inaccurately, such as the overuse of 'however' and 'furthermore' to link sentences that do not always contrast or build logically upon each other. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, making it difficult to follow the relationships between the data points and categories being discussed.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The lexical range is limited but minimally adequate for the task, attempting vocabulary related to frequency and statistics. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice, collocation, and spelling that cause some difficulty for the reader. Examples include spelling errors like 'resturants' and 'percenatage', as well as awkward phrasing such as 'how usually individuals... ate fast food meal' and 'shared the highest amount percenatage'. These lexical inadequacies and frequent spelling slips prevent the vocabulary from reaching a higher level of precision and control.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response displays a limited range of sentence structures, with frequent reliance on basic patterns. When complex sentences are attempted, they are often faulty, featuring awkward relative clauses and misplaced modifiers, such as in 'a few times a year who ate is around 13% and who actually who never eaten in fast food restuarant accounted for 5% people.' There are frequent errors in grammatical structures, articles, verb forms, and prepositional usage, which can cause confusion and require the reader to slow down to understand the intended meaning.
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