Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-26

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 usually people of USA ate in restaurants in 2003,2006 and 2013.

people eating everyday and never eating in fast food restaurants seems lowest, less than about 5%, throughout the period. While people eat fast food once a week and once or twice a month represent the largest proportion from 2003 to 2013.

In 2003, People eating in fast food restaurants everyday was about 4%, while in 2006 and 2013 there is slightly decrease in proportion to 3%. Therefore, Poeple eating in restuarants several time a week was about 17% in 2003, while in 2006 it incrreased to 20%, and again decreased to 16% in 2013. Similarly, people eaten fast food once a week proportioned about 31% in 2003, and increased about 2% in 2006, made-up to 33%, And then in 2016 it decreased about 15% making upto 28%.

Poeple eat once or twice a month makeup 30% in 2003, and declined considerably to 25% in 2006, and rose upto 33% in 2016. While people eaten few times a year was about 13% in 2003, and remained stable to 15% in 2006 and 2013. therefore people never eaten in fast food restaurants, madeup about 5% , and declined to 4% and remained stable in 2006 and 2013.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main pattern that weekly and monthly visits account for the largest shares, and you include figures for all six categories. However, the overview is brief and does not clearly summarise the key changes: monthly visits become the most common frequency by 2013, while weekly visits peak in 2006 and then fall. There are also important inaccuracies. You refer to 2013 as “2016” twice, and say the weekly figure decreased by about 15%, although it fell from 33% to 28%—a five-percentage-point drop. The statement that daily and never visits are both below about 5% is broadly supported, but the final comparison of never eating is unclear. A more precise overview and accurate comparisons would strengthen the report.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a brief overview, and two paragraphs reporting figures. This gives the reader a generally coherent route through the chart, and sequencing phrases such as “In 2003,” “while,” and “and then” help show changes over time. However, the body is organised mainly as a list of categories, so the most meaningful comparisons are not grouped or highlighted consistently. Some linking is mechanical or confusing, particularly “Therefore” before the several-times-a-week figures and “Similarly” before the weekly figures. The final sentence also combines a decline and stability without making the years fully clear. Grouping related trends and using clearer references to each year would improve progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “proportion,” “declined,” “increased,” and “remained stable,” which helps communicate the data. There is some variety in how you describe movement, but several expressions are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “how usually people of USA ate,” “proportioned about 31%,” and “remained stable to 15%.” Repetition of “people eating” and “fast food restaurants” also limits flexibility. Spelling errors—including “Poeple,” “restuarants,” and “incrreased”—are noticeable and reduce the polish of the report, though the intended meaning is usually recoverable. Aim for precise collocations such as “accounted for” or “the proportion who ate,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including clauses linked with “while” and “and then,” but control is inconsistent. Errors in verb forms and agreement appear in phrases such as “people eaten fast food” and “there is slightly decrease”; these should use forms such as “people who ate” and “there was a slight decrease.” Articles and sentence construction are also problematic in “people of USA” and “people eating in fast food restaurants everyday was about 4%.” Several sentences run together through inconsistent capitalisation and punctuation, especially where “And” begins a clause after a comma. These errors sometimes make relationships between figures harder to follow. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and build complex sentences with clear clause boundaries.

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