Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-23

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 chart illustrates the how many times the people of USA ate fast food from 2003 to 2013 in the restaurants.

Overall, it is seen that individuals ate often either once a week or once or twice a month. The people who either ate everday or never were the lowest among all categories.

To begin with, people who ate once a week were more than 25% across three years while those who ate everyday or never were less than 5% of them. The former were like approximately 32% in 2003, 33% in 2006 and 27% in 2013 respectively whereas the latter were 4% in 2003, 2% in 20

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify two relevant overall patterns: weekly and monthly visits were the most common, while eating fast food every day or never was least common. You also give several figures for weekly visits, broadly matching the chart. However, the report is incomplete and addresses the data only partially: it stops mid-sentence at “2,” so the figures for the less frequent categories and the important shift from weekly visits being highest in 2003 and 2006 to monthly visits being highest in 2013 are not reported. The claim that daily and never visits were “less than 5%” is broadly accurate, but the unfinished comparison leaves the 2006 and 2013 details unclear. The response is also 42 words below the required minimum. Include a complete account of the main changes and comparisons.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and a detail paragraph introduced by “To begin with.” This gives the reader a basic progression from general patterns to figures. The overview also groups the most and least common frequencies, which helps organise the information. However, the final paragraph ends abruptly at “2,” leaving the comparison unfinished and disrupting the flow. The detail paragraph focuses almost entirely on weekly, daily and never eating, without moving on to the monthly and yearly categories. Some linking is also mechanical, particularly “The former” and “the latter,” whose references require the reader to track several categories. Complete the paragraph and organise the details into clear comparisons across the three years.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of task-related vocabulary, including “illustrates,” “across three years,” “approximately,” and “categories.” These choices help communicate the chart’s subject and introduce numerical comparisons. There are, however, some inaccurate or awkward expressions: “the how many times” is not a natural noun phrase, “ate often either” is unclear, and “were like approximately 32%” is imprecise. “Everyday” should be “every day” when referring to frequency, and “the former” and “the latter” are not especially clear when several groups have just been mentioned. Aim for precise chart language such as “the proportion who ate weekly” and “stood at approximately.” Proofread spelling and word forms, and choose collocations that describe percentages naturally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including the overview sentence beginning “Overall” and the comparison using “whereas.” Most of the intended meaning is understandable, but some grammatical errors remain. The opening, “The chart illustrates the how many times,” has an incorrect article and clause structure; write “The chart illustrates how often…” instead. In “The people who either ate everday or never were the lowest,” the construction is awkward and the comparison is not formed clearly. The final sentence is incomplete, ending with “2,” so it cannot demonstrate accurate control of the full comparison. Use complete sentences, check articles and clause patterns, and vary sentence structures while maintaining accurate comparisons.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.