Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-27

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 illustrated the frequency of eating at fast food restaurants among people in the USA between 2003 and 2013. It is divided in six categories.

Overall, once a week and once or twice a month was at peaked in every year as compared to other category of people eating at fast food restaurants, while the smallest share was in every day and never which were least in the graph.

In general, every day and never was almost same in every and were lag behind among others which was accounted for almost 3%-5%. The substantically increased was seen in year 2006 and 2013 in once a week and once or twice a month respectively which respresent almost same as 33% of people who were prefering eating at fast food restaurants.

In addition, there was very slightly change in a few times a year in 2006, while in 2006 and 2013 was same as made up of 15% of people.Similarly in several times a week most people were prefering in 2006 which constitute about 20% of people.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the chart’s subject and give an overview of the main pattern: weekly and monthly visits were the most common, while daily visits and never eating fast food were the least common. You also report several relevant figures, including 33% for weekly visits in 2006 and monthly visits in 2013, and 15% for eating a few times a year in 2006 and 2013. However, some comparisons are unclear or inaccurate: the two most common categories did not both peak in every year, and the claim that both rose substantially in 2006 and 2013 overlooks their different movements. The response also gives little account of the overall changes across all three years. A clearer overview and more precise, selected comparisons would make the report more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, beginning with an introduction and overview before adding details about the categories. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “In addition,” and “Similarly” help signal relationships between points. However, the progression is not consistently clear: the second and third paragraphs repeat the low-frequency categories, while the final paragraph moves between yearly figures without explaining their significance. Some references are difficult to follow, particularly “which constitute about 20%” and “which respresent almost same as 33%,” because it is not immediately clear which category or year is being described. Organise the details into clearer comparisons—for example, the most common categories together, followed by the less common ones—and use explicit references to categories and years.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “frequency,” “categories,” “share,” and “made up of,” and you attempt more formal expressions such as “substantially increased.” This gives you a useful foundation for describing data. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, including “was at peaked,” “lag behind,” and “very slightly change.” There are also spelling and word-form errors, such as “respresent” and “prefering,” which reduce precision. Aim for natural reporting phrases such as “reached a peak,” “accounted for,” and “changed very little.” More accurate vocabulary for rises, falls, and stable figures would help you describe the chart clearly without relying on repeated or unsuitable expressions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including clauses joined with “while” and “which,” and the reader can generally identify the categories and figures you mean. However, errors occur frequently in sentence construction and agreement, and some sentences are difficult to interpret. For example, “once a week and once or twice a month was at peaked” has problems with subject–verb agreement and verb form, while “every day and never was almost same in every” is missing grammatical elements. The sentence beginning “The substantically increased was seen” also uses an incorrect structure. Practise forming clear comparisons with accurate subjects and verbs, such as “The proportion eating weekly peaked at 33% in 2006.” Check articles, plurals, and sentence boundaries when editing.

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