Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-11-02

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 illustrate the data of people, how frequently the people are eating at fast food restaurant in the USA in these three timelines 2003,2006, and 2013. the chart also shows percentage from 0% to 40% indicating the people.

Overall, the amount of people who eat outside food once a week and once or twice a month are more. while the every day eaters and the people who never consume the junk food are the lowest.

Looking at the toppers of the chart, weekly once eaters has been increased in 2006 compared to 2003. The count got decreased in 2013. coming to the people who eat out once or twice a month has more numbers in the year 2013 and lowest recorded in 2006.

Where as the lowest percentages of the chart everyday eaters has no much difference between three years, around 3% to 4%. coming to the people who never eat junk food are same as everyday eaters, stands on 5% to 4%.

people who eat junk food several times a week and and few times a year are in middle, between 15% to 20%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main pattern that weekly and monthly visits were the most common, while daily visits and never eating out were least common. You also correctly note that weekly eating peaked in 2006 and that monthly eating was highest in 2013 and lowest in 2006. However, some comparisons are incomplete or imprecise: the overview does not mention that monthly visits rose to become the leading category in 2013, and the final paragraph groups “several times a week” and “a few times a year” together without accurately describing their different trends. For example, the former varied from 17% to 20% to 16%, while the latter rose from about 12.5% to 15% and then remained stable. More precise reporting of these changes would make the summary fuller and clearer.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs describing higher and lower frequencies. This gives the reader a basic route through the information. However, progression is not consistently clear, particularly in the final paragraph, where two categories with different patterns are combined and the discussion ends without a concluding comparison. Linking phrases such as “Looking at the toppers” and “coming to” are repeated and sometimes make the organisation feel mechanical; “Where as” also introduces a comparison that is not fully developed. Use topic sentences to group categories by meaningful trends, and connect each figure directly to the relevant year. Clearer referencing would help readers follow which category each statement describes.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “percentage,” “increased,” “decreased,” and “lowest,” so the main subject is generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several informal or inaccurate expressions reduce precision. “Toppers of the chart” is not a natural way to describe the highest figures, while “count” is unsuitable when reporting percentages. Repeated phrases such as “coming to” and “people who eat” also make the account less concise. In addition, “outside food” and “junk food” are not precise substitutes for eating at fast-food restaurants, since the chart measures frequency of restaurant visits. Choose neutral, chart-focused terms such as “proportion,” “category,” and “frequency,” and vary the language used to describe rises, falls, and stability.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts a mixture of simple statements and longer comparisons, and the intended meaning is usually recoverable. However, errors in sentence formation and agreement occur throughout. For example, “The bar chart illustrate” needs subject–verb agreement, and “weekly once eaters has been increased” has an incorrect verb form and construction. Several sentences begin with lowercase letters, and punctuation is often missing or misplaced, as in “2013. coming to” and “Where as the lowest percentages…” The sentence about daily eaters also lacks a clear grammatical structure. Practise forming complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and check agreement, tense, capitalisation, and sentence boundaries. More accurate control of these basics would make your comparisons easier to understand.

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

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