Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-20

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)

The bar chart describes the fast food of restaurants among the people in the USA over ten-year perod from 2003 to 2013. the figure for percentage of people.

In general, it can be seen clearly that the among of public in the usa, it is once a week was considerable the highest, while the every day the lowest proportion.

First, the bar graph summarise the information by frequency of eating at fast food restaurants among the people in the USA: over the ten- year period.

the bar graph showed three differents stagies, while the ate of fast food every day in the usa, in 2003, accounted for 4%, then 17%, the several times a week, as well as once a week was recorded at 31%, 30%, once or twice a month, further they fell it 14%, a few times a year and the last decreased to 5%, never. By contrast, the restaurants of individual in 2006, the figure for once a week was the largest at 35%, overall the bar chart. After that, they decerease consistently in all proportion.

Secondly, the eating of fast food in the usa: in 2013, at the begining of every day share at 3%, then they sharply reached to 16%, further they stood it 27%, 35%. Meanwhile, the figure experienced was gradually decrease 15%, and finally fell to 4% over the period.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response attempts to address the task by describing the data from the bar chart regarding fast food consumption in the USA from 2003 to 2013. However, the task achievement is severely hindered by major comprehension errors, disjointed reporting, and incomplete data coverage. The student attempts an overview ('In general, it can be seen clearly...'), but the phrasing is muddled and grammatically broken, leading to unclear main features. The data points quoted throughout the body paragraphs (such as 'fell it 14%' or 'stood it 27%, 35%') do not accurately or coherently reflect the source material provided in the transcription. Important trends over the ten-year period are largely obscured by erratic reporting and garbled syntax. Consequently, the response falls into Band 4, as the information is not arranged or reported cohesively enough to fully satisfy the requirements of Task 1.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0

Coherence and cohesion are weak throughout the response. The text is divided into multiple paragraphs, but the logical progression within and between sentences breaks down almost entirely due to severe structural errors and missing links. Phrases like 'First, the bar graph summarise...' and 'Secondly, the eating of fast food...' attempt to impose a structure, but they fail because the sentences that follow are fragmented and lack clear reference. Pronouns and transitional phrases are misused or absent, leaving the reader struggling to connect the ideas. Furthermore, sentences like 'the figure for percentage of people.' are left as incomplete fragments, disrupting the flow and making the overall arrangement very difficult to follow. This aligns with the descriptors for Band 4.

Lexical Resource — Band 4.0

The lexical range displayed is extremely basic and repetitive, with frequent misuse of vocabulary. Words are often placed in incorrect collocations or ungrammatical forms, such as 'fast food of restaurants', 'the among of public', and 'ate of fast food'. Attempts to use more advanced vocabulary items result in severe word-choice errors that frequently impede communication—for instance, 'differents stagies', 'decerease consistently', and 'begining of every day share'. Spelling errors also occur ('perod', 'decerease', 'begining'). The vocabulary is insufficient to convey the data accurately or naturally, which places the response firmly at Band 4.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0

Grammatical control is very weak, with frequent, severe errors across the entire text. There is a complete lack of error-free sentences. The response contains numerous broken structures, missing verbs, and confused clause boundaries, such as 'the figure for percentage of people.', 'the among of public in the usa, it is once a week was considerable the highest', and 'meanwhile, the figure experienced was gradually decrease 15%'. Punctuation and capitalization are also erratic (e.g., lowercase letters at the start of sentences like 'the figure for percentage...'). Simple sentence forms are handled poorly, and any attempt at complex structures results in major grammatical distortion. This performance matches the Band 4 descriptor where errors are frequent and often distort meaning.

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