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 graph below illustrates how frequently individuals in the USA ate in fast food places during the years of 2003, 2006 and 2014.

The data consist results of 5 types of people who visit fast food restaurants and comperise of 3

different years of responses.

The results for everyday visit remains low during the timeline of the data and highest was in 2003, almost 3% people used to visit restraurants on daily basis.

Many people used to ate at restaurants once a week, in 2003 about 33% people used to ate in fast food restaurants. Which subsequently decreases to 28% in 2013.

Most people prefer visiting fast food outlets once or twice a month, in 2003 30% people ate in these places, which decreases to 25% in 2006 and in 2013 with a significant jump of almost 9%, 34% people are visiting fast food places to eat.

Many individuals show at these fast food outlets only few times a year, about 13% people used to ate at these outlets in 2003, which shows a growth of about 2% till 2013.

5% and 3% people respectively never visited these fast food chains.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify several relevant categories and report some broad patterns, especially the rise in monthly visits by 2013 and the decline in weekly visits. However, the response only partially covers the chart: it omits the “several times a week” figures and gives little comparison across all three years. Some data are inaccurate: the chart is for 2013, not 2014; weekly visits were about 31% in 2003 and 28% in 2013, not 33% and 28%; and daily visits peaked at about 4% in 2003, rather than “almost 3%.” The claim that five types of people are shown is also incorrect; there are six frequency categories. Add a clear overview of the main shifts and check each figure against the chart.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic sequence, moving from daily visits to weekly, monthly, occasional and never, and each paragraph generally focuses on one frequency. This gives the reader some organisation. However, there is no clear introductory overview of the main trends, and the opening description (“5 types of people”) does not accurately frame the information. Several sentences are long and joined awkwardly, particularly the monthly-visits sentence, which combines three years and a comparison without clear punctuation. Linking phrases such as “which subsequently decreases” and “which shows a growth” are repetitive and sometimes make the reference unclear. Grouping the categories into a few comparisons and using clearer transitions would create stronger progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a range of task-related terms, including “frequency,” “timeline,” “significant jump,” and “daily basis,” so the topic is generally understandable. However, vocabulary is sometimes inaccurate or repetitive: “5 types of people” should refer to six frequency categories, while “results consist results” is unclear. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “comperise” and “restraurants,” and some unnatural collocations such as “show at these fast food outlets” and “used to ate.” Repeated use of “people,” “visit,” and “fast food places” limits precision. Choose standard chart language such as “the proportion of respondents,” “ate out,” and “rose/fell,” and check spelling and collocations carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts some complex sentences, including comparisons across years, but control is inconsistent. Errors in verb forms occur in “Many people used to ate” and “people are visiting,” while the chart describes past data and would be better reported consistently in the past tense. Sentence boundaries are also problematic: “In 2003 about 33% people used to ate… Which subsequently decreases…” leaves a fragment and has an incorrect article pattern (“33% of people”). The monthly comparison is overloaded with clauses and lacks clear punctuation, making the relationship between figures harder to follow. Use a mix of shorter, accurate sentences and controlled comparison clauses, with consistent past-tense reporting and correct forms such as “30% of people ate.”

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