Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The bar chart presents how regularly people in the United States of America consumed junk food in hotels between 2003 and 2013.

Overall, the percentage of people having fast food once a week is at the highest while compared with other categories. The least consumed junk accounts by the people who have it every single day throughout the given time period.

In 2003, 2006 and 2013 the proportion of people eating junk food from restaurants on daily basis and those who never ate showed almost the same steady pattern by accounting for 5% or below. In 2006, 20% of the people had fast food several times a week, while 2003 and 2013 experienced the decline at roughly about 15% respectivly. Whereas, those for ate fast food only few times a year remained constant in the years 2006 and 2013 by 15%. Although, the share of people in 2003 was less as compared to the other two following years by 13%.

The biggest trend was seen by the people having fast food at hotels in once a week and once or twice a month. Almost between 30 to 35% of people were held in 2006 and 2013 for having junk food once in 7 days and once or twice a month. Intrestingly, in 2003 the percentage of people were accounted similar by almost 30% who had junk food in the former category mentioned. While, in 2013 people who ate in food joints once a week were much less comapred to those who ate once or twice a month. The ratio of people fell between 25% to 30% having it once in 7 days respectivly.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main pattern that weekly or monthly visits were the most common, and you include several relevant comparisons across the three years. For example, you note that monthly visits reached about 33% in 2013 and that daily eating and never eating remained below 5%. However, the overview is not fully accurate: weekly eating was not highest in every year, since monthly eating was highest in 2013. The opening also incorrectly places the restaurants in “hotels”; the chart concerns fast-food restaurants. Some figures and trends are unclear, such as saying the 2003 figure for a few visits a year was 13% rather than approximately 12.5%. A more precise overview and clearer reporting of the key changes would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview and two detail paragraphs, and it generally moves from less frequent categories to the main weekly and monthly figures. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow. The sentence beginning “In 2003, 2006 and 2013” combines daily eating and never eating without clearly distinguishing their values, while “Whereas, those for ate…” creates an awkward, incomplete link. Connectors such as “Although” and “While” are also used where the relationship between ideas is not clear. Grouping the data consistently—for example, comparing all three years for each frequency category—and using simpler, more precise transitions would make the information easier to track.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You attempt a range of vocabulary, including “proportion,” “accounting for,” “remained constant” and “decline,” which is appropriate for describing data. However, word choice and collocation are often inaccurate or unnatural, sometimes making the meaning harder to understand. “Consumed junk food in hotels” misrepresents the setting, and phrases such as “the least consumed junk accounts,” “were held in 2006,” and “the ratio of people fell” do not express the intended comparisons clearly. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “respectivly,” “Intrestingly” and “comapred.” Use standard chart language consistently, such as “ate at fast-food restaurants,” “accounted for,” and “the proportion fell,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You use both simple statements and attempts at longer, more complex sentences, including clauses introduced by “while,” “although” and “who.” However, complex structures are often faulty, and errors in agreement, articles and sentence construction can make some comparisons difficult to interpret. For example, “the percentage of people were accounted similar” has an agreement and construction problem, while “those for ate fast food” is not a complete grammatical phrase. In “people who ate in food joints once a week were much less compared to those,” the comparison is not formed clearly. Practise building accurate comparison sentences with a clear subject and verb, and review articles and prepositions in phrases such as “on a daily basis” and “at fast-food restaurants.”

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