Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-11

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)

This bar chart illustrates the frequency of fast food eating people in the USA from restaurants in 2003, 2006 and 2013. The measured unit is presented as percentage.

Overall, this bar chart shows the percentage of people eating at fast food restaurants. Most of people eats fast food once a week or twich a month varies in those years. However, the least portion of people eat every day.

In 2003, the highest proportion of people ate fast food at restaurants in once a week, specifically more than 30% of people. Similarly, 30% of people ate once or twice a month. Nevertheless, everyday consumers were very less around less than 5% along with those were never been to fast food restaurants around 5% of people. More than 15% people ate several times a week and less than 15% of people ate few times a year. In 2006, people went more in once a week than 2003 and 2013 one, specifically around less than 35% of people. Around 30% of people ate once or twice a month in 2006 also.

That year shows similar pattern every day eater and never went to fast food shops. Also, in 2006 more than 15% of people ate several times a week like almost similar in th 2013. A few times a year tried around 15%. In 2013, most of the people ate once or twice a month. Again least amount of people ate in everyday along with those never been to. Once a week around more tha

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the chart’s subject and give a broad overview: weekly or monthly eating was common, while daily eating was among the least common. You also report several relevant figures, including the 2003 peaks of about 31% weekly and 30% monthly, and the 2013 monthly peak of 33%. However, the account is incomplete: it ends while describing 2013, so the final comparison is not fully reported. Some details are also inaccurate or unclear. For example, in 2006 monthly eating was about 25%, not around 30%, and “people went more in once a week” does not clearly state that the figure rose to 33%. Include a complete overview and compare the main changes across all three years more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview and year-based detail, and phrases such as “In 2003” and “In 2013” help signal time. However, progression is uneven: the 2003 and 2006 figures receive substantial attention, while the final year is cut off before its details are completed. Some links are vague or repetitive, including “That year shows similar pattern” and repeated references to the least common categories. The overview also combines several points without clearly distinguishing the main trends. Organise the body around comparisons—such as weekly versus monthly frequency and the less common categories—then use clear references and transitions to connect the years.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “proportion,” “percentage,” “consumers” and frequency expressions such as “once or twice a month.” This gives you enough language to describe the chart, but several choices are unnatural or imprecise and are repeated. For instance, “frequency of fast food eating people” and “everyday consumers” do not express the chart categories naturally; “least portion” and “very less” are also awkward. Spelling slips such as “twich” and “th” further reduce accuracy. Aim for standard chart-reporting collocations and use the category labels consistently, for example, “the proportion who ate fast food daily” and “the share eating several times a week.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, and the reader can generally follow the comparisons. However, control is inconsistent, especially in longer constructions. Examples include “Most of people eats,” where the article and subject–verb agreement are faulty, and “people ate fast food at restaurants in once a week,” where the sentence pattern and preposition are incorrect. “Those were never been to fast food restaurants” also has an incorrect verb construction, while “That year shows similar pattern” lacks an article. These recurring errors sometimes make relationships between figures difficult to interpret. Practise accurate comparative sentence frames, such as “The proportion eating weekly rose from… to…,” and check agreement, articles and verb forms when editing.

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