Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-21

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 illustrate the proportion of fast food consumed by people lived in USA at resturants over the period from 2003 to 2013.

Overall, it was oberved, that in the trend of eating at fast food resturants, only 3% to 4% of the people in USA visited resturants on daily basis to purchase quickly cooked food, over the period of 10 years, the major rise was observed in the categoery of once in a week visits, in addition to that with once or twice a month categoery, afterward an dramaticall drop was obsered in few times a month, and in never categoery.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The student attempts to summarise the main features of the chart, mentioning the daily fast-food consumption and referencing categories such as once a week and never. However, the response falls significantly short of the 150-word minimum, containing only 103 words. Furthermore, the description of trends contains inaccuracies and confusion regarding the data provided in the chart; for instance, the claim that the major rise was in the once-a-week category is not fully supported, and the phrasing regarding other categories becomes vague and garbled. Due to the severe under-length and incomplete development of key comparative features, the response achieves Band 4.0 for this criterion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0

The response is structured into an introduction and a single very long, run-on body paragraph that lacks proper punctuation and clear progression. Cohesive devices are either misused or absent, resulting in a single breathless sentence for the entire body paragraph starting with 'Overall, it was oberved...'. Referencing is unclear, and the lack of distinct paragraphing makes the flow difficult to follow. There is no clear logical organisation, aligning with the descriptors for Band 4.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 4.0

The student attempts some less common vocabulary such as 'proportion', 'daily basis', and 'categoery', but the vocabulary is heavily impacted by spelling and word-choice errors (e.g., 'resturants', 'oberved', 'categoery', 'dramaticall'). The range is quite limited and repetitive, and errors in spelling and collocation ('purchas quickly cooked food') cause some strain for the reader. This performance fits the Band 4.0 profile.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0

Grammatically, the response demonstrates very limited control. The text relies on overly long, poorly structured complex sentences that break down grammatically (e.g., starting with a relative clause structure or participial phrase without a main clause, such as 'over the period of 10 years, the major rise was observed...'). Punctuation is faulty, with commas spliced inappropriately and missing terminal punctuation in places. Frequent errors distort meaning and make parts of the text difficult to parse, corresponding to a Band 4.0.

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

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