Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-09

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 given bar chat elucidates information about frequency of eating as fast food restaurants among people in USA (2003_2013) Overall it is clear that there are noticeable differences among the categories shown in the chart . Fast food restaurants in 2003 is everyday slow this percentage is 4% . The fast food restaurants in 2006 several time a week is percentage is normal 20% . Some categories show some fluctuations by following increment as well decrement whereas fir some cases they remain stable . According to the chart the fast food restaurants on the week percentage is high 32 percentage . The fast food restaurants in a few times a year percentage is 15 is the normal . The frequency of fast food restaurants is normal at the 2013 is it the normal percentage . This show a clear comparison among the categories . This chart show the percentage in the categories .

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response4.0
Coherence and Cohesion4.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy4.5
Overall4.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The response identifies the general subject and includes a few relevant figures, such as 4% for eating fast food every day in 2003, 20% several times a week in 2006, and 15% a few times a year. However, it reports the chart only minimally: there is no clear overview of the main pattern, and most categories and year-to-year comparisons are omitted. The statement that weekly eating was “32 percentage” is close to the chart’s approximate 31% for 2003, but the year is not specified, making the figure unclear. Phrases such as “the normal percentage” do not explain what the data show. To improve, summarise the key shifts—for example, weekly visits peaked in 2006, while monthly visits were highest in 2013—and support these with accurate comparisons.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

There is a basic attempt to move from an opening description to observations about individual categories, and phrases such as “According to the chart” signal a shift to evidence. However, the ideas are not arranged into a clear, coherent summary. The response has no distinct overview, and the observations jump between years and frequencies without a consistent order. “Some categories show some fluctuations” is not followed by a clear explanation of which categories changed. Repeated references to “the chart” and “the percentage” do little to connect the information, while several sentences are difficult to follow. Group the information into an introduction, an overview of the main trends, and a paragraph comparing the most important figures, using clear links between years and categories.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses some relevant chart vocabulary, including “percentage,” “categories,” “fluctuations,” “increment,” and “decrement,” so it can refer to the subject and to change. However, the range is limited and several choices are inaccurate or unnatural, which sometimes makes the intended meaning difficult to understand. For example, “fast food restaurants in 2003 is everyday slow” does not clearly describe a frequency, and “is the normal” is repeated without conveying a meaningful comparison. “Bar chat” is also an incorrect form for the chart type. Use precise terms such as “the proportion of people,” “ate fast food,” “increased,” and “declined,” and avoid vague fillers such as “normal.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response attempts several sentence forms, including a general opening and a contrastive statement about fluctuations, but grammatical control is weak and errors frequently obscure the message. Examples include “Fast food restaurants in 2003 is everyday slow,” where the subject and verb pattern do not express the intended data, and “The fast food restaurants in 2006 several time a week is percentage is normal 20%,” which lacks a clear grammatical structure. There are also problems with articles, agreement, and sentence boundaries, as in “This chart show.” Most sentences follow similarly simple patterns, with little accurate variety. Build clear structures such as “In 2006, 20% of people ate fast food several times a week,” and check subject–verb agreement, articles, and punctuation.

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