Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-24

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 chart present how frequently people in the USA consumed in a fast food restaurants from 2003 to 2013.

Overall, all the years increased significantly in the first two years befor 2003 and 2006 dropped although 2013 remained increasing, and then the last two years reduced dramatically.

However, 2006 and 2013 has an equal numeber of people that ate few times a year with about 14 percent respectively while 2003 has about 12 percent. Moreover, 2006 topped in the proportion of people consuming food in eatery several times in a week with about 19 percent while 2003 and 2013 came second and third with about 17 and 16 percent.

Furthermore, the proportion of people ate once a week saw 2003 and 2006 has over 30 percent while 2013 has the lowest with over 25 percent. Furthermore,the number of people that never ate fast food in USA were below 5 percent.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The response attempts to address the prompt by selecting some features from the chart, such as data for 2003, 2006, and 2013 across different categories. However, the overall summary is extremely confusing and inaccurate regarding the visual data, stating incorrectly that 'all the years increased significantly... and then the last two years reduced dramatically,' which misinterprets the bar chart showing distinct frequency categories rather than a chronological timeline of total consumption. While some specific data points are mentioned, such as 'about 14 percent' and 'below 5 percent', the lack of a coherent overview and misinterpretation of trends restrict the score.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

The text is organized into brief paragraphs, but the logical progression is severely disrupted by confusing transitions and unclear referencing. Phrases like 'Overall, all the years increased significantly in the first two years befor 2003 and 2006 dropped' display faulty cohesive links that fail to guide the reader logically through the data. Furthermore, cohesive devices are used mechanically or inaccurately, and the lack of a clear structural framework results in a confusing reading experience.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, with frequent word choice and collocation errors, such as 'consumed in a fast food restaurants' and 'an equal numeber of people that ate few times a year'. There are also spelling errors like 'numeber' and 'befor'. While the student attempts some numerical and topic-related vocabulary ('proportion', 'eatery'), the inaccuracies and limited range restrict the lexical score to this level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response contains a very limited range of grammatical structures, and attempts at more complex sentences often result in severe structural errors and awkward phrasing, such as 'the proportion of people ate once a week saw 2003 and 2006 has over 30 percent'. Errors in subject-verb agreement (e.g., '2006 and 2013 has', '2013 has the lowest') and tense consistency are frequent and occasionally impede comprehension. Punctuation is also inconsistently handled.

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

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