Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-24

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 how frequently the population in the USA ate in fast food restaurants between 2003 to 2013.

Overall, we have six different groups of individuals who ate at fast foods restaurants in 2003, 2006 and 2013. Majority of people preffered eating fast food once a week while there is very few proportions of those who never ate or ate everyday.

People who ate everyday is quite platue in these 3 years. 4% in 2003 and 3% in both other given years. Interestingly in 2003, 5% of people in USA never ate in a fast food restaurants and with little decline in bars of 2006 and 2013, the percentage is 4%. Several times a week is fluctuating group. 17% in 2003 and with a increase of 3% in 2006 it becomes 20% and then a plummet for 2013, percentage becomes 16.

Few times a year bars are quite stable. 13% in 2003 and then with little increase 15% in both other years. 31% of the USA's people ate once a week in 2003 then with a rise and dip percentage becomes 33 and 28. In year 2013, 33% people preffered eating once or twice a month at fast food which is a big portion. 25% and 30% of population fall in this group for year 20013 and 2006 respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover all six frequency categories and identify the main pattern: weekly eating was common, while daily eating and never eating were uncommon. You also report several useful comparisons, including the rise in monthly eating to 33% in 2013 and the fall in weekly eating to 28%. Most figures are close to the chart, but the overview says once-a-week eating was preferred without noting that once or twice a month became the largest category in 2013. There are also small inaccuracies: “never” is about 4–4.5%, not 5% and then 4%, and the 2003 monthly figure is 30%, not 25%. A clearer overview and more precise reporting of these comparisons would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview and paragraphs reporting figures, and the information is generally grouped by frequency. This makes the chart’s main categories easy to locate. However, progression within the body is sometimes uneven: the discussion moves from daily eating to never eating, then several times a week, before shifting to yearly and weekly figures. Some linking is also mechanical, particularly repeated uses of “and then” and “with a little increase.” The final paragraph introduces the monthly category and then looks back to earlier years. Grouping the categories more deliberately and using clearer comparisons between years would make the organisation more coherent.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of chart-related language, including “illustrates,” “fluctuating,” “decline,” “rise,” and “percentage,” and the meaning is generally clear. There are attempts at more descriptive vocabulary, such as “plummet” and “stable,” although “plummet” overstates the change from 20% to 16%. Several word-choice and collocation problems reduce precision: “bars” is used for data values, “groups of individuals” is vague, and “a big portion” is informal. Spelling errors such as “preffered” and “platue” are noticeable but do not prevent understanding. Prefer standard reporting phrases such as “the proportion,” “remained stable,” and “fell to” to describe the data accurately and naturally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including comparisons across years, and the reader can usually understand the intended meaning. However, some errors in sentence structure, agreement, articles and tense remain. For example, “between 2003 to 2013” uses an incorrect preposition pattern, while “People who ate everyday is” has a plural subject with a singular verb. “Majority of people” needs an article, and “there is very few proportions” has a mismatch between the verb and plural noun. Some sentences are also incomplete or awkwardly joined, as in “4% in 2003 and 3% in both other given years.” Check agreement and article use, and make sure each comparison forms a complete sentence.

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