Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-29

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 the data of the people who prefer to eat at restaurants in the USA, from 2003 to 2013.

Overall, in 2013, it is clear that the category of the people goes once or twice a month is higher than others. In contrast, people least prefer to ate daily bases.

In 2006, noriceable feature is that the 32 percent of the category of a people who ate once a week was significant higher than other, which is decreased to 27 percent. Moreover, category of once or twice a months surged from 25 to 32 percent in 2013. The people eat every days and never ate at reastaurants values remained stagnant at 4 to 3 percent. The percentage of several times a weel rose form 16 to 20 in 2006. Then it came back to beginning in 2013.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main pattern that monthly visits were the most common in 2013, and you compare several categories across the years. However, the overview is incomplete: it does not clearly summarise the overall shifts, such as weekly visits peaking in 2006 before falling, while monthly visits rose to become the leading category in 2013. Some figures are inaccurate or unclear: weekly eating in 2006 was about 33%, not 32%, and the 2013 figure was about 28%, not 27%. The claim that daily and never values remained at 4 to 3% also blurs separate categories and years. The response is 10 words below the required minimum, and the limited coverage leaves some key comparisons underdeveloped.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview, and a paragraph describing figures. The sequence from 2006 to 2013 is generally understandable, and linking expressions such as “Moreover,” “In contrast,” and “Then” help signal relationships. However, progression is uneven because the overview is brief and the main paragraph moves between categories without a clear organising principle. For example, the discussion shifts from weekly to monthly, then daily and never, and back to several-times-a-week figures. Some references are also unclear, particularly “it came back to beginning,” which does not specify the percentage or year. Grouping related trends and using precise references would make the cohesion less mechanical and the comparisons easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “category,” “percentage,” “decreased,” “surged,” and “remained stagnant,” and these choices show an attempt to describe trends rather than simply list figures. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, which sometimes makes the meaning difficult to interpret. Phrases such as “the data of the people who prefer to eat,” “the category of the people goes,” and “daily bases” are not natural ways to describe the chart. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “noriceable,” “reastaurants,” and “weel.” Use standard chart language such as “the proportion of people who ate out” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast in “In contrast, people least prefer to ate daily bases” and a relative clause in “the category of a people who ate once a week.” However, control is inconsistent, and errors in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction sometimes make the message hard to follow. For example, “people least prefer to ate” combines incompatible verb forms, while “the category of a people who ate” has faulty article and noun structure. “The people eat every days and never ate” also shifts tense and does not form a clear comparison. Aim for accurate past-tense reporting throughout, and build shorter, complete sentences before adding more complex structures.

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