Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-11-09
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 4.5)
The bar chart illustrate the number of people visited the resturant to eat fast food from 2003 to 2010 in USA. Overall, the individuals are divided in the six groups who visited once a week or once or twice a month are found most dominant in the chart while the daily visitor and people who never visited the resturant are the least ones.
The people who visit during the weekends and after two weeks or only one time a month are the more popular in 2003,2006 and 2013
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 4.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0
The response identifies the chart’s general subject and notes that weekly and monthly visits were the most common, while daily visits and never eating there were among the least common. However, it reports the period as 2003–2010 rather than 2003–2013, and the claim that people visited “during the weekends” is not supported by the chart. There is no clear account of how the figures changed across the three years, and the response ends without reporting specific data or a developed summary. It is also substantially below the required 150 words. To improve, give an accurate overview, compare key categories across all three years, and support those comparisons with approximate figures.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5
The response has a basic overall shape: it introduces the chart, gives an overview, and then begins a comparison. The opening overview also groups the most and least common frequencies, which gives the reader a starting point. However, the second sentence is incomplete in meaning: “The people who visit during the weekends and after two weeks…” does not clearly explain which categories or years are being compared. There is little progression beyond this, and the response stops before developing the comparison. Use separate, purposeful paragraphs and organise the details by the main patterns—for example, frequent visits versus monthly or less frequent visits—using clear links such as “by contrast” and “over the period.”
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The response uses some relevant vocabulary, including “bar chart,” “groups,” “dominant,” and “daily visitor,” so the topic is generally recognisable. However, the range is limited, and several choices are inaccurate or awkward for describing chart data. “Number of people” is not precise when the chart presents percentages, while “the least ones” and “after two weeks” make the intended categories unclear. There are also spelling errors in “resturant” and “illustrate.” Aim for accurate terms such as “proportion,” “category,” “frequency,” and “accounted for,” and use the chart’s labels directly when describing visit patterns. This will make comparisons clearer and more appropriate to an academic report.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response attempts a few sentence forms, including an overview introduced by “Overall” and a relative clause in “groups who visited once a week.” However, the range remains limited, and errors occur in basic sentence construction. In “The bar chart illustrate,” the singular subject requires “illustrates”; “the individuals are divided in the six groups” has an incorrect preposition and awkward passive construction; and “who visited … are found most dominant” does not form a clear grammatical relationship. The final sentence also lacks a clear main comparison. Practise accurate simple sentences first, then add controlled comparisons using forms such as “The proportion eating weekly fell from … to …” Check subject–verb agreement, articles, and sentence completeness.
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.