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 data displays information on the frequency of people who eat fast food in United States of America from2003 to 2013.

Overall, The majority of people in USA east a lot of fast food in restaurant mostly between once a week to once or twice a month, ther is a minority who eat this unhealty food every day and also who never eat fast food.

From 2003 to 2013 the number of people who eat every day decrease slightly from under 5% to around 2.5%, almost the same case for the people who never eat it,the people who eat fast food a few times a year increas from about 12.5% in 2003 to 15% in 2006 and 2013.

The number of people who use this food several times a week rose froun more then 15% in 2003 to 20% in 2006 then decline to about 15% in 2013 , also the number of people who eat it once a week fluctuated between about 30% in 2003 to around 32.5% in 2006 to aboout 27.5% in 2013 , also the number of people who eat aonce or twice a mounth was the highest from30

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the broad pattern that most people ate fast food weekly or monthly, while daily eating and never eating were uncommon. You also report several relevant changes, including the rise in monthly eating by 2013 and the increase in eating a few times a year. However, the overview is imprecise: “eat a lot” does not clearly describe frequency, and the claim that daily eating decreased to around 2.5% is below the chart’s approximate 3% figure for 2013. The final comparison is unfinished (“was the highest from30”), leaving the once- or twice-monthly category without a complete trend or comparison. Select the main peaks and changes, and report them accurately and completely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic paragraph structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs of details. This gives the reader some organisation, and the categories are generally discussed in a sensible order. However, progression becomes difficult to follow in the final paragraph, where several trends are joined with repeated “also” and the response ends mid-comparison. Long sentences combine multiple figures without clear separation, while punctuation and spacing are inconsistent. Use one paragraph for the overview and group the detailed comparisons into clear, complete sentences—for example, compare weekly and monthly frequencies together, then describe the less common categories. More controlled linking would reduce repetition and make relationships between figures clearer.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant task vocabulary such as “frequency,” “decrease,” “rose,” “fluctuated,” and “minority,” so the reader can recognise the intended comparisons. However, the range is limited and several choices are inaccurate or informal for describing a chart. “People who use this food” is an awkward substitute for people who eat at fast-food restaurants, while “eat a lot” is vague and “unhealthy food” adds an opinion that is not needed for a neutral report. Spelling errors such as “unhealty,” “increas,” and “mounth” are noticeable and sometimes slow reading. Build a precise set of trend and proportion phrases, and check spelling and collocations before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences with clauses, including “The number of people who…,” which shows some range. However, complex sentences are often difficult to control, particularly where several comparisons are joined together. There are frequent errors in verb forms and agreement, as in “the number … decrease” and “the people … increas,” as well as missing or incorrect articles and prepositions in “in United States of America” and “eat fast food in restaurant.” Capitalisation and punctuation are also inconsistent, and the final sentence is incomplete. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and sentence boundaries; divide multi-trend sentences into shorter units, then check articles, agreement, and punctuation.

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