Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-26

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The bar chart below shows the percentage of Australian men and women in different age groups who did regular physical activity in 2010.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Student answer (Band 4.0)

The graph shows that percentage men and women who did regular exercise in 2010. The number of women increase in 2010 that do more exercise than men at the age of 15 to 24. The percentage of women was 52.8 and men was was only 47.7 percent

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 2.5

The response identifies the chart’s subject and attempts a comparison, but it reports only one age group and does not provide an overview of the main patterns. It also reverses the figures for ages 15–24: men were at 52.8%, while women were at 47.7%, not the other way around. The statement that women did more exercise than men in this group is therefore inaccurate. The response contains 47 words, so it does not meet the required minimum of 150 words; this leaves most of the chart unreported. To improve, summarise the overall trend and compare the sexes across several age groups using accurate figures.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

There is a basic sequence: the opening identifies the graph, followed by an attempted comparison. However, the response is too brief to develop a clear progression or organise the information into an introduction, overview and supporting details. The second sentence combines a trend claim with an age-group comparison, and its meaning is difficult to follow. For example, “The number of women increase in 2010 that do more exercise than men at the age of 15 to 24” does not clearly show how the ideas relate. Use separate sentences and paragraphs for the overview and key comparisons, and connect them with clear references such as “By contrast” or “In the older age groups.”

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The response uses a small set of relevant terms, including “percentage,” “women,” “men” and “exercise,” so the topic is recognisable. However, the vocabulary is limited and some choices are imprecise for describing a chart. “The number of women” refers to a count, whereas the chart presents percentages, and “do more exercise” is less suitable than language describing participation in regular physical activity. Repetition of “percentage” and “exercise” also limits variety. Build a task-specific range with terms such as “proportion,” “participation rate,” “higher than” and “declined,” and use them accurately to describe the figures and trends.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response attempts simple statements, but grammatical control is inconsistent. In “The graph shows that percentage men and women,” the noun phrase needs an article and a clearer construction, such as “the percentage of men and women.” The sentence “The number of women increase” has subject–verb agreement and verb-form problems; “that do more exercise” is also an unclear clause. In the final sentence, “was was” repeats the verb, and the comparison would be clearer with parallel phrasing. The short response offers little evidence of varied sentence structures. Practise accurate chart-description patterns, including “The proportion of women who exercised regularly was…” and “while the figure for men stood at…”.

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.