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 frequency of people ate in fast food restaurants from 2003 to 2013 in the United States of America in percentage. The frequencies are divided into six categories (every day, several times a week, once a week, once or twice a month, a few times a year, and never).

Overall, in the early years most people liked to eat at fast food restaurants once a week. However, in the recent year 2013, people tend to eat at fast food restaurants once or twice a month. Not many people liked to eat at fast food restaurants everyday over all the years. People who used to eat at fast food restaurants a few times a year or never showed contistency between 2006 and 2013.

The highest number of people liked to eat at fast food restaurants are once a week in 2003 (about 31%) and in 2006 (approximately 32.5%). However, In 2013, people reduced the amount of eating at fast food restaurants to once or twice a month (approximately 32.5%). But only a small amount of people liked to eat at fast food restaurants everyday in 2003, 2006 and 2013, respectively 4%, 2.5%, and 2.5%.

The second highest number of people liked to eat at fast food restaurants were once or twice a month in 2003 (30%), 2006 (25%). While in 2003, about 27.5% people used to eat at fast food restaurants. There were some people who never liked to eat at fast food restaurants in 2002 (5%), and stayed the same (about 4%) in both 2006 and 2013.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main shift from weekly eating being most common in 2003 and 2006 to monthly eating in 2013, and you note that daily eating was uncommon. These are relevant overview points. However, several figures and comparisons are inaccurate or unclear: weekly eating in 2006 was about 33%, not 32.5%; monthly eating in 2013 was about 33%; and the statement that 27.5% ate at fast-food restaurants in 2003 does not identify a frequency category. You also give a figure for “never” in 2002, although the chart shows 2003, and omit useful comparisons for several times a week and a few times a year. More accurate selection and reporting of the key data would make the summary more complete and reliable.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview and two detail paragraphs. The overview also gives the reader a useful sense of the main change over time. However, progression within the detail paragraphs is uneven. The final paragraph moves from monthly figures to an unclear 27.5% figure and then to the “never” category, so the relationships between points are difficult to follow. Linking words such as “However,” “But” and “While” are repeated or do not clearly express the relationship between the data. Organise the details by category or by year, and use clearer references—for example, name the category each percentage describes—to make comparisons easier to track.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “frequency,” “categories,” “approximately” and “percentage,” and the reader can generally understand the topic. However, the wording is repetitive: “people liked to eat at fast food restaurants” appears several times, and “amount of eating” is not a natural way to describe the figures. Some choices also make the meaning imprecise, such as “the early years” and “the recent year,” where the specific years would be clearer. Aim for concise, accurate language suited to describing data, and vary the repeated phrase with expressions such as “the proportion who ate out” or “the most common frequency.” Check spelling as well: “contistency” should be “consistency.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex sentences, including contrast clauses with “However” and “While,” and most of the intended meaning is recoverable. There are nevertheless recurring errors in sentence construction and verb forms. The opening phrase “the frequency of people ate” needs a noun or clause structure such as “how frequently people ate.” In “The highest number of people … are once a week,” the subject and complement do not agree logically; describe the percentage or say that once-a-week eating was most common. The sentence beginning “While in 2003” is also incomplete, and “people reduced the amount” does not clearly express the comparison. Review clause completeness, agreement and consistent past-tense reporting.

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