Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The chart compares people's habit of eating in fast food restaurants from 2003 to 2013 in the USA, considering six categories such as eating in fast food restaurants everyday, several times a week, once a week, once or twice a month, a few times a year and Never.

Overall, the chart illustrates that most of the people ate in fast food restaurants once a week and very few people are there, who ate fast food every day.

The char shows while 0% to 5% people had fast food everyday, 15% to 20% people ate fast food several times a week specially in 2006, at 20%. Similarly, Few people ate fast food considering few times a year, at10% to 15%. Approximately 4% to 5% people never ate in fast food restaurants.

Different features can be noticed when it comes to eating fast food once a week and once or twice a month. In 2003 and 2006 more than 30% of population ate fast food. while in 2013, less than 30% of population ate fast food, the proportion changed and became more than 30% in case of having fast food once or twice a month. Whereas, in 2003 and 2006 25% to 30% people ate in fast restaurants. Therefore, people in the USA frequently ate in fast food restaurants once a week or once/twice a month.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main pattern: weekly and monthly visits were the most common, while daily eating and never eating were uncommon. The overview also notes that weekly eating peaked in 2006 and that monthly visits became the leading category in 2013. Most figures are broadly consistent with the chart, including the 20% figure for several-times-a-week visits in 2006. However, some comparisons are unclear or incomplete. For example, “in 2003 and 2006 more than 30%” does not specify that this refers to eating once a week, and the later statement about 25% to 30% is difficult to connect to the monthly category. Make each comparison explicit and report the key shift from weekly visits being highest in 2003 and 2006 to monthly visits being highest in 2013.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs describing the data. The final paragraph also groups the two most frequent categories together, which gives the report a sensible focus. However, progression within that paragraph is sometimes hard to follow because the category being discussed is not always named. For instance, “more than 30% of population ate fast food” is followed by “the proportion changed,” leaving the reader to infer which frequency is meant. The connectors “Similarly,” “Whereas,” and “Therefore” are used, but some links feel mechanical or do not clearly express the relationship between the figures. Use explicit category references and organise comparisons by frequency or year to make the sequence easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing chart data, including “proportion,” “categories,” “approximately,” and “frequently,” and the reader can generally understand your intended comparisons. However, some word choices and collocations are awkward or imprecise, such as “people are there, who ate fast food,” “considering few times a year,” and “in fast restaurants.” Repetition of “ate fast food” also limits the range of expression. Choose standard reporting phrases such as “the proportion of people who ate out” and “once or twice a month,” and use “accounted for” or “stood at” where appropriate. More precise vocabulary would make the comparisons sound more natural and help distinguish the different eating frequencies.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including clauses introduced by “while” and “when,” and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. Some grammatical errors remain, however. In “most of the people ate … and very few people are there, who ate,” the tense shifts from past to present and the clause structure is awkward. The sentence beginning “The chart shows while” also lacks a clear grammatical connection, while “in 2003 and 2006 25% to 30% people ate” is missing a determiner before “people.” Punctuation and capitalisation are inconsistent, as in “while” after a full stop. Keep the past tense consistent for the years shown, and check clause boundaries, articles, and sentence punctuation.

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