Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-13

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 illustrates of how frequently USA people ate junk food in a restaurants from 2003 to 2013.

Overall, the least number of people ate in a fast food restaurant everyday, while the highest number of individual ate junk food once a week or once or twice a month. Meanwhile, the proportion of total number of people who never go in a fast food restaurant was the least across all the years.

In 2003, around 4% of people ate junk food everyday, this figure went up to almost 17% for those individuals who went to the restaurant several times a week. Almost 31% people consumed fast food once a week, and for those people who ate once a month, a few times in a year and never went, was at around 25%, 12% and 5%, respectively.

However, in 2006 and in 2013, the proportion of the people who went everyday shared similar figure, at around 3%, this figure rose gradually just above 30% and almost 27% for individuals who ate processed food once a week. Meanwhile, the proportion of people who went a few times and who never went shared similar figure, around at 15% and 4%, respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You provide an overview identifying the low daily-eating figures and the prominence of weekly or monthly visits, and you include several relevant percentages. However, the overview is not fully accurate: “the highest number” is attributed to weekly or monthly eating without noting that the leading category changes from once a week in 2003 and 2006 to once or twice a month in 2013. The body also misreports the monthly figure for 2003 as around 25%; it was about 30%. Your final paragraph groups 2006 and 2013 together and omits the important shift between weekly and monthly visits, as well as the several-times-a-week figures. More precise comparisons across all three years would make the key features clearer and more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs presenting data. The sequence from general trends to year-specific details is easy to follow, and linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Meanwhile,” and “However” help signal relationships. Some connections are less clear or mechanical, though. In the final paragraph, “this figure rose gradually” is confusing because it appears to refer to the daily figure, which remains around 3%, before moving to weekly figures. The paragraph also combines 2006 and 2013 despite their differing patterns. Organise the details by category or year and use clearer references, so each comparison follows logically without relying on vague phrases such as “this figure.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of topic vocabulary, including “proportion,” “individuals,” “consumed,” and “processed food,” and the meaning is generally understandable. However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for this chart. “Junk food” and “processed food” are not the same as the chart’s neutral category, fast food, and “ate in a restaurants” is an awkward phrase. “The highest number of individual” is also imprecise when describing percentages. Repetition of “people,” “proportion,” and “figure” limits flexibility, while phrases such as “shared similar figure” are not idiomatic. Use consistent, precise terms such as “people,” “percentage,” and “ate at fast-food restaurants,” varying them only where the meaning remains exact.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including clauses beginning “while” and “who,” and most of the message can be understood. Some grammatical errors remain, particularly in sentence construction and agreement. The opening “illustrates of how frequently” contains an unnecessary preposition, while “the highest number of individual ate” has a singular/plural mismatch. In “for those people who ate once a month, a few times in a year and never went, was at around…,” the subject and verb do not agree, and the list is difficult to structure. The final sentence also uses “shared similar figure” without an article. Check subject–verb agreement, articles, and the structure of long lists; shorter, well-controlled comparisons would improve accuracy.

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