Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-07

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 illustration gives information about the frequency of eating at fast food restaurants among people in the USA between 2003 and 2013.

Overall, percentage of people who was eaten fast food daily and who was never eaten was approximatly same that in 2006 and 2013 was same but in 2003 was greater than two same years.

It is quite evident from the bar graph that in 2003, percentage of people who had eaten fast food every day was greater than the year of 2006 and 2013. In addition, percentage of people who eatan fast food several trimes a week in 2003 was higher than the percentage of 2013 but lesser than 2006. Similarly percentage of people who eaten fast food once a week was higher in 2006 as compare to 2003 and 2013.

Further more, largest percentage of people who had eaten fast food once or twice a month was in 2013 rather than 2006 and 2003. Meanwhile, percentgae of people who eaten fast food a few times a year was same in 2006 and 2013 which also was greater than 2003. Lastly, percentage of people who never eaten fast food was greater in 2003.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover all six frequency categories and make relevant comparisons across the three years. The clearest accurate points are that weekly eating peaked in 2006, monthly eating was highest in 2013, and eating a few times a year was equal in 2006 and 2013. However, the overview is difficult to interpret and does not identify the main overall pattern clearly. The claim that daily eating was greater in 2003 is correct, but the statement that people who never ate fast food were more numerous in 2003 is inaccurate: 2003 was only slightly higher than the other years. Some comparisons are also reported without figures, making the trends less clear. A more precise overview and a few key percentages would make the main features easier to understand.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs describing comparisons. Sequencing phrases such as “In addition,” “Similarly,” and “Meanwhile” help signal relationships between points. However, progression is somewhat mechanical, with repeated sentence openings based on “percentage of people,” and the overview’s long sentence is hard to follow. The final paragraph also moves through categories one by one rather than grouping related trends, so the comparison across years is not always easy to track. Use clearer topic sentences and group categories with similar patterns—for example, the low daily and never figures—while keeping each sentence focused on one comparison.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “frequency,” “percentage,” “daily,” and “once or twice a month,” so the reader can generally identify the categories being discussed. However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation, and spelling errors reduce precision, such as “eatan,” “trimes,” and “percentgae.” Phrases like “greater than the year of 2006” are also unnatural; compare the percentages or the figures rather than describing a year as greater. Repeating “percentage of people” makes the account less flexible. Practise accurate chart language such as “the proportion who ate…” and “accounted for,” and check spelling carefully before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including comparisons with “while,” “which,” and “as…as.” However, errors in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction are frequent enough to make some statements difficult to process. For example, “people who was eaten” and “who never eaten” do not form correct relative clauses; use “people who ate” or “people who had never eaten.” The overview sentence beginning “percentage of people who was eaten…” also lacks a clear grammatical structure. Articles are often missing in phrases such as “percentage of people.” Build accuracy first with a consistent pattern such as “The proportion of people who ate fast food daily was…” before adding longer comparisons.

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

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