Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-11-04

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 compares how often people in the USA ate in fast food restaurants in 2001, 2006 and 2013.

Overall, the majority of Americans ate fast food once a week or once or twice a month. In contrast, very few people ate fast food every day or never ate it. Eating fast food several times a week rised up in 2006.

In 2003, about 31% of people ate fast food once a week. 30% of people ate once or twice a month. The proportion of the people ate fast food in that year dipped slightly. It was 17% and 13% for several times a week and a few times a year respectively. The proportion for every day or never ate fast food was very low. It was just about 4% and 5% respectively.

In 2006, the highest figure of the ate fast food was 34% once a week. It was 25% of ate once or twice a month. 20% of the people ate fast food several times a week. In 2013, 34% of people ate ance or twice a month and 28% of people ate once a week. 16% and 15% of people ate several times a week and a few times a year respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main pattern: the largest shares ate fast food weekly or monthly, while daily eating and never eating were uncommon. You also report several key figures and compare 2006 with 2013. However, the opening gives the wrong first year (2001 rather than 2003), and some figures are inaccurate: for example, the 2006 weekly figure is about 33%, not 34%, while the 2013 monthly figure is about 33%, not 34%. The overview’s claim that eating several times a week “rised up in 2006” is relevant, but it would be clearer to state that this category peaked in 2006 before falling. The account also omits the 2013 daily and never figures and gives limited comparison across all three years.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an introduction and overview to paragraphs about the years, and the main categories are generally easy to follow. However, the progression is uneven: the first detail paragraph covers 2003, while the final paragraph combines 2006 and 2013, making comparisons less systematic. Some links between statements are unclear, as in “The proportion of the people ate fast food in that year dipped slightly,” where it is not clear what is being compared or what dipped. Repeating “In 2006” and “In 2013” helps orient the reader, but clearer grouping by frequency or consistent year-by-year comparisons would improve cohesion and make the overview connect more directly to the details.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use enough task-related vocabulary to communicate the chart’s main categories, including “proportion,” “majority,” “in contrast,” and “dipped slightly.” This gives the report an adequate range, and most word-choice errors do not prevent understanding. Some expressions are inaccurate or awkward, however: “rised up” is not the correct form, “the highest figure of the ate fast food” is unclear, and “34% of people ate ance or twice a month” contains a spelling error. Repeated use of “people ate” also limits variety. Aim for precise reporting phrases such as “the proportion who ate…” and “accounted for,” while checking spelling and choosing natural collocations. This would make the description more fluent and exact.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You use both simple statements and some longer structures, such as “Overall, the majority of Americans ate fast food once a week or once or twice a month.” The meaning is usually recoverable, but several grammatical errors remain. In “30% of people ate once or twice a month,” the intended meaning is clear, whereas “The proportion of the people ate fast food in that year dipped slightly” lacks a grammatical link between “proportion” and “ate.” Other examples include “It was 25% of ate once or twice a month” and “the highest figure of the ate fast food,” where sentence structure is faulty. Work on relative clauses (“the proportion who ate…”) and complete, well-formed comparisons. Greater accuracy in these patterns, alongside varied sentence forms, would strengthen the report.

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.