Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The bar chart compares the frequency of eating fast food at restaurants among people by percentage in the USA in the three years.

In 2003, the people who ate fast food daily are almost four percent moreover, who ate several times a week were 17 percent and 31 percent were the individuals ate once a week. Furthermore, 30 percent of people were ate once or twice in addition 13 percent were a those who ate a few times a year and 5 percent of those who had not ate fast food.

In 2006, the people who ate fast food daily are almost three percent in 2006 moreover, who ate several times a week were 20 percent and 33 percent were the individuals ate once a week. Furthermore, 25 percent of people were ate once or twice in addition 15 percent were a those who ate a few times a year and 4 percent of those who had not ate fast food.

In 2013, the people who ate fast food daily are almost three percent in 2013 moreover, who ate several times a week were 16 percent and 27 percent were the individuals ate once a week. Furthermore, 33 percent of people were ate once or twice in addition 15 percent were a those who ate a few times a year and 4 percent of those who had not ate fast food.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The response makes an attempt to present the data from the chart, but it lacks an overall summary or clear overview of the main trends. Instead of selecting and reporting the most significant features and making relevant comparisons across the years, the writer lists almost every single data point for 2003, 2006, and 2013 in a mechanical, repetitive fashion. Furthermore, several figures are inaccurately reported, such as stating that 27 percent of people ate once a week in 2013 when the chart shows 28 percent. The failure to synthesise the data or highlight major changes keeps the response at a basic level, as it reads more like raw data extraction than an analytical summary.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The text is organized into basic paragraphs, with an introduction and separate body paragraphs for each year. However, there is no clear overall progression or effective linking between ideas. The writer relies heavily on repetitive transitional phrases like 'moreover,' 'furthermore,' and 'in addition' to connect clauses, which makes the progression mechanical and unnatural rather than logically cohesive. Pronoun referencing is also weak, leading to confusing structures such as 'the people who ate fast food daily are almost three percent moreover, who ate several times a week were 17 percent.' While the basic layout of information by year provides some structure, the lack of sophisticated cohesive devices and poor flow prevent the response from achieving a higher level.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, relying on phrases like 'ate fast food,' 'people,' and percentages throughout the response. There are numerous awkward lexical choices and word-form errors, such as 'were ate once or twice' instead of 'ate once or twice' or 'consumed fast food,' and 'had not ate' instead of 'had not eaten' or 'never ate.' The range of vocabulary is limited to simple descriptions of the chart categories, and the lack of variation in reporting verbs and frequency expressions restricts the ability to convey precise meaning. While the reader can generally understand the basic figures being discussed, the noticeable errors and lack of less common items reflect a limited lexical range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response features a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying almost entirely on repetitive subject-verb-complement clauses with clumsy relative clauses like 'the people who ate fast food daily are almost three percent moreover, who ate...'. There are frequent errors in verb forms, tense usage, and agreement, such as 'are almost three percent in 2006' describing a past year, 'were ate,' and 'had not ate.' Punctuation is also problematic, with run-on sentences joined incorrectly by commas and conjunctions. These frequent grammatical inaccuracies and lack of complex sentence control mean that sentences often require careful rereading to parse, holding the writing at a basic level.

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