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 bar graph compares how frequently people ate in fast food restaurants in USA from 2003 to 2013.

Overall, it is evident that people prefer to eat in restaurants once or twice a month additionally the proportion of people who choose not to eat in fast food restaurants stayed the decreased a little.

The are less than 5% people that eats in restaurants everyday and the proportion decreased from 4% in 2003 to 3% in 2006 and remain unchanged untill 2013. In contrast, the number of people who eats atleast several times a week was almost 17% in 2003 and climbed up to 20% in 2006 before falling back to 11% by 2013. Furthermore, 31% people used to eat in fast food in 2003 and decreased to 28% in 2013. The proportion of people who ate outside once or twice a month was 30% in 2003 and the peoportion decreased before bouncing back to 33% in 2013.

Conversely, there are not much changed in proportion of people who ate a few times a year, they accounted for around 15% of total population. However, less than 5% people never ate fast food restaurant, and the proportion remained stable at around 4%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main pattern that monthly visits were common and include several relevant figures, such as the weekly category falling from 31% to 28% and monthly visits reaching 33% in 2013. You also note that daily eating and never eating remained below 5%. However, the overview is unclear and partly inaccurate: the share who never ate fast food did not “decreased a little”; it changed only slightly, from 4.5% to about 3.5%. More importantly, several times a week rose from 17% to 20%, then fell to 16%, not 11%. The yearly category was about 12.5% in 2003 and 15% in both later years, so it was not unchanged throughout. Select the main comparisons accurately and state the overall shifts more clearly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and two detail paragraphs. The categories are generally grouped in a sensible way, and connectors such as “In contrast,” “Furthermore,” and “Conversely” help signal comparisons. However, progression is sometimes weakened by unclear or mechanically used linking. For example, “additionally” does not clearly connect the two overview points, while “However” introduces a stable figure without a clear contrast. The detail paragraph also moves between categories without consistently distinguishing the weekly and monthly frequencies. Use a clearer grouping—perhaps frequent visits first, then less frequent visits—and ensure each connector expresses the relationship between the facts that follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “proportion,” “accounted for,” “remained stable,” and “bouncing back.” These choices help describe changes and comparisons. However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, such as “the decreased a little,” “climbed up,” “ate outside,” and “total population.” “The proportion decreased before bouncing back” is also imprecise because the figure rose from 25% in 2006 to 33% in 2013. Spelling errors such as “peoportion” and “untill” reduce accuracy. Aim for precise chart language, for example “the percentage fell,” “rose to,” and “people who ate at fast-food restaurants,” and proofread spelling.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including clauses introduced by “before” and “who,” and most of the intended meaning can be understood. However, errors in agreement, sentence formation, and tense occur in several places. Examples include “The are less than 5% people,” “people who eats,” and “the proportion … stayed the decreased a little.” The sentence about weekly visits also has a faulty comparison structure, and “there are not much changed” is not grammatically formed. Articles and plural forms are sometimes missing, as in “in USA” and “fast food restaurant.” Practise building accurate comparison sentences with a clear subject and verb, and check agreement and tense consistency before finishing.

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