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 frequency of people in USA ate out in fast food restaurants between 2003 and 2013.

Overall, the larger proportion of people who ate out once a week and once or twice a month recorded between 2003 and 2013. Only the smallest proportion of people accounted for daily eating out.

Moreover, the number of people dining out once a week increased to 30%, peaked at 33%, then suddenly decline to 28% in 2013. However, the proportion of people who ate out once or twice a month recorded at 30%, fell sharply to 25% and then peaked at 33%.

The frequency with which people ate out few times a year rose from 12% to 15%.In contrast, people dining out several times of weak showed fluctuations, increased to 20% before the declined to 16%. In addition, the proportion of people who eat out daily accounted for less than 5%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main categories and report several relevant comparisons, including the weekly figure falling from its 2006 peak and monthly dining rising to 33% in 2013. However, the overview is unclear: “the larger proportion ... recorded” does not clearly state the main pattern, and the claim that weekly and monthly dining were the largest categories across the period needs more precise wording. Some details are incomplete or inaccurate: weekly dining was 31% in 2003, not 30%, and the “few times a year” category rose from about 12.5% to 15% by 2006 and then remained there, rather than simply rising. The response is also 7 words below the 150-word minimum. Develop a clearer overview and cover the key changes more accurately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs describing changes across categories. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Moreover,” and “In contrast” help signal relationships between points. However, progression is sometimes mechanical, and the overview does not clearly prepare the reader for the details that follow. The sentence beginning “The frequency with which...” combines several categories, making the comparison harder to follow, while “In addition” introduces daily dining without a clear connection to the preceding point. Improve cohesion by grouping related trends—for example, the two most common frequencies together, then the less common ones—and use references that make each comparison explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “proportion,” “peaked,” “fluctuations,” and “accounted for.” These choices help describe chart data, but several word-choice and collocation problems reduce precision. “The larger proportion ... recorded” is not a natural way to describe the leading categories, and “dining out several times of weak” contains an incorrect phrase and spelling. “Suddenly decline” also uses an unsuitable adverb and form for a gradual chart change. Aim for accurate, natural collocations such as “the highest proportions were for...” and “fell to.” Check spelling and avoid repeating “people who ate out” when a concise category label would be clearer.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including comparisons linked with “before” and “then,” and the overall meaning is generally understandable. However, errors in verb forms and sentence construction recur. For example, “people in USA ate out” needs an article and a grammatical relative clause, while “then suddenly decline” should use a past-tense verb to match the chart period. In “before the declined to 16%,” the article is incorrectly used before the verb. There are also punctuation and spacing issues, such as the missing space after “15%.” Use consistent past tense for the historical data and check each sentence for a complete, correctly formed clause.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.