Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-19

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 4.0)

well this graph shows the consumption of fast foo a prallel comparision of consetive 3 years .

if we talk about2003 people visint and eating fast food thrice aweek or more,but then atime came when people had been useing it on weekends.firstly they were around 20% then it reaches to 32% welldining out is a trend which is being followed from the last two decade.observation tells a clear pitcure of taking fast food frequently.the graph shows that in past year 2003 more people were eating but now with the increasing number of papulation has effected the consumption graph.so if we go further in 2013 there is a dramatic shift the reason can be the busiest routine now people seems very rare in using of fast food .there might be time that no one will be taking it.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The student attempts to describe the bar chart showing fast food consumption in the USA from 2003 to 2013, but the response suffers from significant weaknesses. Crucially, the text falls short of the 150-word minimum requirement at only 137 words, which incurs a penalty. Furthermore, the task is only partially addressed: the data points cited (e.g., '20% then it reaches to 32%') are inaccurate or poorly matched to the actual visual data, and the overview is vague and speculative ('there might be time that no one will be taking it'). Important main features, such as the dominance of 'once a week' consumption, are missed or misreported. This aligns with Band 4.0 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0

The response lacks logical organisation and clear progression. The text is written as a single dense block without appropriate paragraphing. Cohesive devices are either missing, inadequate, or misused, resulting in disjointed sentences such as 'if we talk about2003 people visint and eating fast food thrice aweek or more,but then atime came when people had been useing it on weekends.' Referencing and transitions between ideas are frequently unclear or absent, making the progression difficult to follow. This performance corresponds to Band 4.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 4.0

The lexical range is extremely limited and basic, with numerous spelling and word-choice errors that strain the reader. Examples of errors include 'foo' for food, 'prallel' for parallel, 'consetive' for consecutive, 'visint' for visiting, 'useing' for using, 'pitcure' for picture, and 'papulation' for population. Vocabulary is repetitive and inappropriate for an academic task, impeding communication in several places. This matches the Band 4.0 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0

Grammatical range is very limited, consisting mostly of simple and attempted complex sentences that are heavily flawed. There are frequent, severe errors in tense usage, subject-verb agreement, and punctuation throughout the text, such as 'people has effected', 'people seems very rare in using', and run-on phrasing without proper punctuation. These errors frequently distort meaning and cause significant difficulty for the reader, placing the response firmly at Band 4.0.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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