Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-05

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 graph illustrates how often people in USA ate in fast food resturants between 2003 and 2013.

Overall, the percentage of people that ate in fast food resturants once a week and once or twice a month was highest among the others. Whie the percentge of people that ate everday was lowest.

In 2003, the percentage of people that ate food once a week was about 32% just foolowed by once or twice a month with 30%.Morever, the percentage of people that ate several times a week was about 17%.About 13% people ate food a few times a year. While the percentages for everyday or never were below 5%.

In 2006, the percetage of once a week again dominated with 35% approximately. The percentage for once or twice a month declined to 25%.The percentages for several times a wek and a few times in a year raised to 20% and 15% repectively. The percentages for everyday and never were at the same positions asin year 2006.

In 2013, the people that ate food once a week decrease to about 28% while the percentage for people that ate once or twice a week reached at 33%.The percentage for several times dropped to jus 17%. The percentage for a few times a year was same as in year 2006.The percentages for everyday and never were same as the previous years.

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 relevant comparisons across the given years. The overall trend is correctly identified, and specific data points for categories such as 'once a week' and 'once or twice a month' are highlighted. However, some ideas and details are under-developed or imprecise. For instance, the overview lacks clarity regarding broader trends, and certain descriptions of the categories are overly repetitive. To reach a higher level, the response should provide a more fully developed selection of features with greater precision in reporting the data across all time intervals without relying on vague summaries.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The text presents an overall coherent arrangement with a clear paragraph structure dividing the introduction, overview, and body paragraphs for each year. Information is generally ordered chronologically. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical, and referencing is not always clear. For example, transitional phrases feel abrupt, and sentences are occasionally linked without smooth cohesive devices. To improve, the writer should employ a wider and more flexible range of cohesive devices to manage referencing and progression more naturally throughout the essay, ensuring that the relationships between different data points are smoothly articulated.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully communicating the basic information from the chart. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'dominated', but this is accompanied by noticeable spelling and word-choice errors, including 'resturants', 'Whie', 'percentge', 'everday', 'foolowed', 'Morever', 'percetage', and 'repectively'. These errors do not seriously impede communication, but they reflect a limited and somewhat inaccurate range of lexical items. To achieve a higher score, the student needs to expand their range of vocabulary, use precise collocations, and eliminate spelling mistakes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over sentence structure. There are errors in grammar and punctuation, such as missing articles ('in USA'), incorrect prepositions ('at the same positions asin year 2006'), and awkward verb phrasing ('decrease to about 28%', 'reached at 33%', 'raised'). While these errors occur regularly, they rarely impede communication. To move up to the next level, the writer must increase the proportion of error-free complex sentences and exercise tighter control over verb tenses, prepositions, and article usage.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.