Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-28

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 people in the USA ate in fast food restaurants in 2003, 2006 and 2013.

Overall, the higest frequentlywere eating fast food once a week or once or twice a month, whereas eating at these at these resturants every day or never was low but uncommon.

In 2003, approximately 31% of Amercians ate at ast food resturants once a week, comparewith around 33% in 2006 and 28% in 2013. People in the USA ate in fast food restaurants once or twice a month stood at around 30% in 2003. then dropped to around 25% in 2006, in 2013 they rise up to 33%

In contrast, For less frequently around 13% people ate fast food a few times a year in 2003, compared with approximately 15% in both 2006 and 2013. Meanwhile 4% everyday in 2003 and this figure fell to around 3% in 2006 and 2013. The percentage who never ate fast food was almost low a 5% in 2003 and around 4% in 2006 and 2013.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover the main categories and make relevant comparisons across all three years. The figures for weekly eating (31%, 33%, then 28%) and monthly eating (30%, 25%, then 33%) are accurately reported, and you identify daily and never eating as uncommon. However, the overview is unclear: “the higest frequentlywere eating” does not clearly state that weekly or monthly visits were the most common, and “low but uncommon” is imprecise. Some details are less fully explained, such as the rise in monthly visits by 2013 and the contrast between the leading categories. A clearer overview and more precise descriptions of the main shifts would make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs describing the figures. You also use comparison signals such as “Overall,” “In contrast,” and “Meanwhile.” However, progression within the detail paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow. For example, the monthly figures are joined in a run-on sequence—“stood at around 30% in 2003. then dropped…”—and the shift from weekly to monthly data is not clearly signposted. Capitalisation after full stops is inconsistent, and “In contrast, For less frequently” combines connectors awkwardly. Grouping the most common frequencies together, then the less common ones, and using clearer sentence boundaries would improve the flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “approximately,” “percentage,” “fell,” and “compared with,” so the reader can generally understand the comparisons. However, the range is limited and several spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable, including “higest,” “Amercians,” “resturants,” and “ast food.” Some phrases are also unnatural or unclear: “the higest frequentlywere eating” and “low but uncommon” do not express the intended meaning precisely. Aim for accurate collocations such as “the most common frequencies were” and “a small proportion never ate fast food.” Careful proofreading of spelling and word forms would make the information easier to read.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more developed sentence forms, and the main figures are usually understandable. However, grammatical control is uneven, particularly in sentence construction and verb forms. “People in the USA ate in fast food restaurants once or twice a month stood at around 30%” lacks a clear grammatical structure; use “The proportion of people who ate…” instead. In “in 2013 they rise up to 33%,” the verb tense should be past (“rose”), and “Meanwhile 4% everyday in 2003” is a sentence fragment without a main verb. There are also punctuation and capitalisation problems, such as starting “then” after a full stop in lowercase. Build complete sentences and check tense consistency.

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