Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-19

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 graph depicts the eating habits of Americans at fast food chains between 2003, 2006 and 2013. Their frequency of eating habits were recorded for the number of times they eat fast food in a year.

Most US citizens preffered to eat once a week at a fast-food restaurant however that proportion decreased from 31 % to about 26% by 2013. A very lower proportion of people ate everyday at fast food chains and that proportion also decreased by 2006.

5% of citizens never ate at restaurants in 2003 and the percentage decreased in the following years. A large proportion of people ate once or twice a month which increased in number from 2003 to 2013 from 30% to 34% respectively.

Although most people went to eat about once a week, that percentage reduced significantly by 2013. The overall trend suggests uphill frequency of people in US eating at restaurants between 2003 and 2013.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the main weekly and monthly categories and report their broad movement, including the fall in weekly eating and rise in monthly eating. However, the overview is unclear and partly inaccurate: “uphill frequency” suggests an overall increase, whereas the chart shows no consistent rise across frequencies. Some figures are also misreported: the 2013 weekly figure is about 28%, not 26%, and “never” is about 4.5% in 2003, rather than 5%, before falling to around 3.5%. The daily category is mentioned without a clear comparison across all years, and several categories are omitted. To strengthen the response, give a concise, accurate overview of the main contrasts and select key figures from the full chart.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has separate paragraphs and generally keeps related information together, so the reader can follow the discussion of weekly, daily, never, and monthly eating. However, the progression is limited: the final paragraph repeats the point that weekly eating declined, already stated earlier, rather than adding a distinct overview. The opening describes what the chart records but does not establish the main pattern. Linking phrases such as “however” and “although” are used, but the relationship between ideas is not always clear, particularly in “Although most people went to eat about once a week” followed by a repeated decline. Organise the response around an overview and then grouped comparisons, avoiding repetition and making each paragraph serve a clear purpose.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing data, including “proportion,” “decreased,” “increased,” and “overall trend,” and the meaning is generally understandable. There is some variety in how you refer to the categories, such as “once a week” and “once or twice a month.” However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for this task: “uphill frequency” does not express the chart’s overall pattern, “a very lower proportion” is not idiomatic, and “increased in number” is less precise when describing percentages. There are also spelling and form errors, notably “preffered.” Aim for standard chart language such as “the proportion,” “rose/fell,” and “remained relatively low,” and use the category labels consistently.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple statements and longer sentences, including a contrast with “Although,” and most of the intended meaning can be understood. However, control is uneven in several sentence patterns. In “Their frequency of eating habits were recorded,” the subject and verb do not agree, and the construction is awkward; “the frequency with which they ate was recorded” would be clearer. “A very lower proportion” also shows difficulty forming a comparative structure, while “that proportion also decreased by 2006” leaves the comparison incomplete. The final sentence, “The overall trend suggests uphill frequency,” is grammatically and semantically unclear. Use straightforward, accurate comparison structures and check agreement, articles, and sentence completeness before adding more complex clauses.

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