Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-09

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 given bar chart depicts about how frequently people ted to ate at fast food restaurants in USA over ten years. The data has been calibrated into percentages.

Overall, people prefer more frequently to ate at fast food restaurants once a week however, less people prefer to ate at fast food restaurants.

At a fleeting glance, more than 30% people in the USA often ate once a week at fast food restaurants in 2003 and 2006 while in 2013 it decreased to almost 26%. People ate at fast food restaurants once or twice a month was 30%, 25% and almost 33% in 2003, 2006 and 2013 respectively. However frequency of people ate everyday at fast food restaurants is less than 5% in 2003, 2006 and 2013.

Moving ahead, people who never at fast food restaurants are 5% in 2013 while in 2006 and 2013 similare data had recorded that was approximately 4%. Frequency of individuals who choose to ate several times a week was more than 15% in 2003 and increase to 20% in 2006 while it decreased by 4% in 2013. The USA residents who like to visit fast food restaurants few times a year is 15% in both 2006 and 2013 but in 2003 it was 13%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main pattern that weekly visits were common and report several relevant comparisons, including the fall in weekly eating from 2006 to 2013 and the rise in monthly visits by 2013. Most figures are close to the chart. However, the overview is unclear: “people prefer more frequently to ate … once a week” does not clearly summarise the overall shifts, and “less people prefer” is not a well-supported trend across all categories. There is also a factual mix-up in the sentence about people who never ate fast food: the chart shows about 4.5% in 2003 and 3.5% in both 2006 and 2013, not 5% in 2013. A clearer overview and more precise reporting of this category would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs comparing categories. The sequence from weekly and monthly visits to the less frequent categories is generally easy to follow, and linking expressions such as “Overall,” “However,” and “Moving ahead” help signal progression. At times, though, connections are mechanical or unclear. For example, “while in 2006 and 2013 similare data had recorded” makes the comparison difficult to interpret, and “However frequency” does not clearly show how the point contrasts with the preceding information. Grouping the categories more consistently and using clearer references to the years would make the progression smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “percentages,” “decreased,” “frequency,” and “approximately,” and you vary the wording for people who visit restaurants. However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for describing data. “Fleeting glance” is an awkward way to introduce a comparison, “calibrated into percentages” is not the right expression, and “people prefer to ate” combines words incorrectly. There are also spelling and word-form problems, such as “similare” and “everyday” where the frequency category is “every day.” Aim for precise, conventional reporting language and avoid forcing synonyms when a simple phrase such as “the proportion of people” is clearer.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including comparisons with “while” and “however,” but errors in verb forms and sentence construction are noticeable and sometimes make relationships unclear. Examples include “people ted to ate,” “people prefer more frequently to ate,” and “People ate … once or twice a month was 30%,” where the verb patterns or sentence structure are faulty. Tense and agreement also need attention in “people who never at fast food restaurants are 5%” and “frequency … is less than 5%.” Use past-tense forms consistently for the years shown, and build comparisons with a clear subject, such as “The proportion who ate weekly fell…” More accurate sentence patterns would make your comparisons easier to understand.

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