Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-12

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 6.0)

The bar graph elucidates the frequency of eating at fast food restaurants among people in the USA from 2003 to 2013.

Overall, we can see in the given bar graph that there are three different year and frequency of eating fast food among restaurants is given. The eye-catching feature is that people frequently eat once a week mostly in every year. However, in 2013, people preferred eating out once or twice a month.

To begin with, it is evident that in the year 2003, people preferred eating out mostly once a week and once or twice a month. 20% of people went several times a week and 15% went a few times a year. Only 3% of people who preferred not going out.

In the year 2006, approx 33% of people preferred once a week and 25% of them went once or twice a month. To add on, 20% of people went several times a week and 15% a few times a year. However, it is evident that the amount of people eating outside eventually decreased in the year 2013, people mostly started going out once or twice a month.

In conclusion, people who preferred not going out were mostly in the year 2003 and stayed same around 4% in both the years 2006 and 2013.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the chart’s subject and give a relevant overview, noting that weekly eating was most common in 2003 and 2006, while monthly visits became the leading category in 2013. Several figures are also reported accurately, including 33% for weekly visits in 2006 and 25% for monthly visits that year. However, coverage is uneven: the 2013 figures are not quantified, and the 2003 account omits the leading categories’ percentages. There are also factual errors: 20% several-times-a-week and 15% a few-times-a-year apply to 2006, not 2003; the chart shows 17% and about 12.5% respectively. The conclusion misstates the “never” figures, which are about 4.5% in 2003 and 3.5% in both later years. Select and compare the key data more accurately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, year-by-year paragraphs and a concluding sentence. This gives the reader a coherent overall route through the information. Linking expressions such as “To begin with,” “To add on” and “However” help signal relationships, although some are mechanical or do not express the relationship precisely. The overview’s claim that people “frequently eat once a week mostly in every year” is then qualified by the 2013 monthly preference, making the progression less clear. The final conclusion repeats the “never” category rather than drawing together the main trends. Grouping the data by the most and least common frequencies, and using clearer comparisons between years, would improve progression and cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for describing the chart, including “frequency,” “preferred,” “decreased” and “eye-catching feature.” The topic remains understandable throughout, and you attempt some variation rather than relying only on “eat.” However, several choices are imprecise or unnatural: “three different year” and “frequency of eating fast food among restaurants” do not express the chart’s categories clearly, while “people went” is vague for describing restaurant visits. “Eating outside” is also less precise than language referring to eating at fast-food restaurants. Aim for accurate collocations and avoid decorative phrases such as “eye-catching feature” when a direct description would be clearer. More precise terms such as “proportion,” “visit” and “category” would help you report comparisons effectively.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including contrast with “However” and a time clause in “in 2013, people mostly started going out once or twice a month.” Most of the intended meaning can be followed, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “there are three different year” has a number-agreement problem, and “Only 3% of people who preferred not going out” is an incomplete sentence. The construction “people frequently eat once a week mostly in every year” is also difficult to parse, and the long sentence beginning “However, it is evident that the amount…” has an unclear structure. Use complete sentences, check singular and plural forms, and make comparisons with straightforward patterns such as “The proportion who ate weekly fell from… to…”.

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