Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-20

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 the differences in the proportion of quick service meal consumed frequently by the residents of United State of America across six distinct categories of time period in the years 2003, 2006, and 2013.

Overall, it is clear that proportion of ready to go meal taken py the populace of USA is dominating by once a week about 32% in the year 2006, and once or twice a month to about 33% in 2013. Additionally, the percentage of fast food eaten by the residents every day is very low to about only 4% throughout the three years.

Looking at the details in depth, the proportion of food eaten by the pupil once a week in the year 2003 is about 31%, followed by upto 33% in 2006, and 27% in the year 2013. The percentage of the ready to go meal in the time period of once or twice a month is 30% in 2003, 25% in 2006, and 33% in 2013.

Furthermore, meal preferred on everyday basis shows very low proportion among all six categories. While food taken on muntiple times a week is about 20% in 2006, 15% consumed on a few times a year. The proportion in the last category of never hardly reaches to 5% throughout all three years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main pattern that weekly eating was highest in 2003 and 2006, while monthly eating became the leading category in 2013, and you include several relevant figures. However, the overview is not fully accurate: daily consumption was about 3–4%, rather than “about only 4% throughout,” and the 2013 weekly figure is approximately 28%, not 27% (a small difference), while the overview’s 2006 weekly figure is given as about 32% rather than 33%. Some important comparisons are also missing, such as the decline in several-times-a-week eating from 20% in 2006 to 16% in 2013. The final paragraph mentions categories without consistently comparing all three years. A more precise overview and fuller selection of key trends would make the report more complete and clear.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs giving details. This helps the reader follow the broad subject, and phrases such as “Overall” and “Looking at the details” signal the stages of the report. However, progression within the detail paragraph is uneven. The final paragraph moves from daily eating to several times a week, then to yearly eating and never, without a clear comparison across years; “While” also introduces a fragment rather than a complete contrast. Some information is repeated, particularly the low daily figure, while other categories receive little explanation. Grouping the categories by rising, falling, or relatively stable trends, and using clearer links between comparisons, would create a more coherent progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a range of expressions related to proportions and frequency, including “proportion,” “percentage,” “throughout,” and “distinct categories.” This shows an attempt to vary vocabulary rather than repeat the chart labels throughout. However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for this report, such as “ready to go meal,” “meal preferred,” and “the proportion … is dominating by once a week.” There are also spelling and word-form problems, including “py” and “muntiple,” and “pupil” is not an appropriate term for the people represented. These choices sometimes make the meaning less clear. Prefer precise chart language such as “fast food,” “accounted for,” and “the share of people,” and check spelling and collocations carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple statements and more complex constructions, including the overview sentence beginning “Overall” and the comparison introduced by “While.” The main meaning is generally recoverable, but errors in sentence structure and grammatical forms are noticeable. For example, “proportion … is dominating by” has an incorrect verb construction, and “the percentage … eaten … every day is very low” does not form a clear, accurate sentence. The “While food taken on multiple times a week…” clause is incomplete, and articles and agreement are inconsistent in phrases such as “proportion of ready to go meal.” Work on complete clause structure, accurate verb forms, and article use; then proofread each sentence to ensure that its subject and verb agree and its comparison is grammatically complete.

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