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 information regarding the changes that had been obseved in the fast food intake namely USA from 2003 to 2013is depicted by the assigned bar graph. The data is measured in percentage.
overall, it is evident that the junk food was highly consumed by individuals in oncea week and twice a month in last two years . Another side, in daily life people less prefer the fast food in all three yaers.
Looking at the details,the proportion of individuals who ate junk food in once a week at 34% and 31% as well as 27% in the 2006, 2003,2013 respectively.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 4.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 4.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0
The student attempts to summarise the main features of the chart, mentioning categories such as 'once a week' and 'twice a month', as well as daily consumption trends. However, the response is severely under-length at only 100 words (falling short of the 150-word minimum requirement), which heavily penalises the task achievement score. Furthermore, there are inaccuracies in quoting data (e.g. citing 34% and 31% for weekly consumption which does not accurately match the data points for 2003 and 2006). The overview is attempted ('it is evident that the junk food was highly consumed...'), but development is very limited due to the truncated length and lack of complete reporting. Consequently, this falls into Band 4.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The response attempts a basic structure with an introduction and body paragraphs. However, paragraphing is irregular and incomplete. Cohesive devices are minimal and basic (e.g., 'overall', 'Another side', 'Looking at the details'), and referencing is sometimes unclear or confusing, such as 'oncea week and twice a month in last two years'. There is a lack of clear logical progression throughout the text, leading to a choppy and disjointed reading experience. This meets the criteria for Band 5, where some organisation is present but overall progression is lacking and cohesive devices are inadequate.
Lexical Resource: Band 4.0
The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, with frequent spelling and word-formation errors such as 'obseved', 'oncea', 'yaers', and inappropriate collocation such as 'less prefer the fast food'. While the student attempts some topic-related vocabulary like 'proportion', 'individuals', and 'consumed', the control over less common items is weak. Lexical errors are noticeable and occasionally cause strain for the reader. This performance aligns with Band 4 descriptors, where vocabulary is basic and errors strain comprehension.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar is poor. There are frequent grammatical and punctuation errors, including missing articles ('in once a week'), awkward preposition use ('intake namely USA'), and tense/agreement inconsistencies ('had been obseved', 'all three yaers'). Sentences often lack error-free construction, causing difficulty for the reader. This corresponds to Band 5, which features a limited range of structures and frequent errors.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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