Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-21

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 illustrates about USA people ate in fast food restaurants between 2003 and 2013. Unit measures in percentage.

Overall, the proportion of once a week people ate in restaurant was highest in 2003 and 2006, while the lowest participants was noticeable by every day over the period.

The proportion of every day people had visited restaurant was accounted for 4% in 2003, it kept declined at nearly 3% in 2006 and 2013 respectively, whereas the proportion of several times a week was lower roughly at 17% in 2003, it increased to 20% by 2006 and it reached to 16% in 2013, which shows higher as compared with every day restaurant visitors. In addition, people consumed outdoor food once a week was represented at 31%, it sored to 33% approximately, by 2013, it decreased significantly at 27%.

In contrast, the consumption of fast food in restaurant was accounted for 30% in 2003, it kept fluctuated during 2006 and it surged to nearly at 33% by 2013. Moreover, A few times a year was 13% in 2013 and in 2006 and 2013, the proportion has been remained similar at 15% respectively. The people never visited restuarants at just 5% in 2003, in 2006 and 2013, each comprised roughly at 4% respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You cover all six frequency categories and include an overview identifying weekly dining as prominent and daily visits as uncommon. Several figures are broadly accurate, including 4% for daily visits in 2003 and 33% for monthly visits in 2013. However, the overview is incomplete: once a week was highest only in 2003 and 2006; by 2013, once or twice a month was highest. Some details are also unclear or inaccurate. For example, the once-a-week figure in 2013 was about 28%, not 27%, and the monthly figure fell to 25% in 2006 before rising. The statement that “A few times a year was 13% in 2013” misreports the year; it was about 15% in both 2006 and 2013. Prioritise the main shifts and report each comparison clearly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and two detail paragraphs. You also use linking expressions such as “Overall,” “In addition,” and “In contrast” to signal relationships. However, progression within the detail paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow because several figures and time points are packed into long, loosely connected sentences. The final paragraph also groups monthly, yearly, and never-eating figures without a clear organising principle. Some transitions do not accurately express the relationship between ideas, and repeated “the proportion” phrasing makes the account feel mechanical. Organise the details into clear comparisons—for example, frequent visits in one paragraph and monthly or less frequent visits in another—and use shorter sentences with explicit year-to-year contrasts.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “proportion,” “percentage,” “declined,” and “surged,” and the reader can generally understand the categories being compared. However, the range is limited by repeated wording and several inaccurate or unnatural collocations. Phrases such as “once a week people,” “consumed outdoor food,” and “the consumption of fast food in restaurant” do not describe the chart naturally. “Kept fluctuated” and “sored” also weaken precision, while “restuarants” contains a spelling error. Choose standard reporting language and use the category labels consistently, such as “people who ate at fast-food restaurants once a week.” More precise verbs and accurate spelling would make the comparisons clearer and more appropriate for an academic report.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt complex sentences with contrast and time clauses, but control is inconsistent, and errors sometimes make relationships between figures hard to interpret. For example, “The proportion of every day people had visited restaurant was accounted for 4%” has an awkward subject and an incorrect verb construction; “it kept declined” also uses the wrong verb form. In “it increased to 20% by 2006 and it reached to 16% in 2013,” the second clause needs a more accurate verb pattern. Articles and plurals are also often missing, as in “in restaurant” and “the lowest participants.” Several sentences run together with commas where a full stop or a clearer conjunction is needed. Practise accurate simple comparison sentences first, then combine them using controlled subordinate clauses.

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