Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-20

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 4.5)

The bar chart illustrate how much consuming food at fast food restaurants had been reported in USA between 2003 and 2013.

Once in a week, 31percent and 33 percent people had went to fast food points excessively in 2003 and 2006 respectively. The highest percentage of 31 percent people visited in 2013 was noticed once or twice in a month. In contrast, on daily basis 3 to 4 percent individuals went to fast food restaurants since 2003 to 2013.

In 2003, 15 percent of people ate meal several times a week while once or twice in a month 30 percent of individuas visited fast food points. In contrst 5 percnt people never visited such places.

there was 3 percentage of people who conusme fast food on daily routine and 4 percent of individuals who never visited such place. 15% and 20% frequency of people went to fast food restaurants on few times a year and several times a week respectively.

16 percent people came to fast food cafe for several times a week.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response4.0
Coherence and Cohesion3.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall4.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The response identifies several relevant categories and figures, including weekly visits in 2003 and 2006 and the low daily percentages. However, it does not provide a clear overview of the main pattern, and some key comparisons are inaccurate: in 2013, the monthly category was 33%, not 31%, and the 2003 figure for eating several times a week was 17%, not 15%. The statement that 5% never visited is also imprecise; the chart shows about 4.5% in 2003 and 3.5% in the later years. Much of the report lists isolated figures without explaining the overall shifts. A concise overview and more accurate selection of the main trends would make the response address the task more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 3.5

There is some organisation by time period and frequency, and linking phrases such as “In contrast” show an attempt to compare information. However, the response has no clear overview or consistent progression: it moves from weekly visits to daily visits, then back to 2003 figures, and later repeats daily and never figures. The final sentence adds another isolated statistic rather than completing a structured comparison. Paragraphing is also limited, with the information presented as a sequence of loosely connected statements. Grouping the data into a clear overview followed by comparisons of the main categories, and using references such as “this figure” accurately, would improve the flow and reduce repetition.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the general subject, including “percentage,” “daily basis,” and “several times a week.” It also attempts varied expressions such as “visited” and “consumed.” However, word choice and collocation are often unnatural or repetitive: “fast food points,” “fast food cafe,” and “went to fast food restaurants” are less suitable than “ate at fast-food restaurants.” There are also noticeable spelling and word-form errors, including “individuas,” “contrst,” “percnt,” and “conusme,” which can distract the reader. Aim for a smaller set of accurate, natural terms and check spelling carefully; precise language will help distinguish frequency categories without awkward paraphrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts both simple statements and longer comparisons, but grammatical control is inconsistent. Errors include subject–verb agreement in “The bar chart illustrate,” the incorrect verb form in “people had went,” and missing or misplaced articles and prepositions in phrases such as “in USA” and “visited in 2013.” Sentence boundaries and punctuation are also uneven, particularly where a new sentence begins with lowercase “there.” These problems sometimes make relationships between figures difficult to follow, although the intended meaning is generally recoverable. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and basic sentence patterns first, then build comparisons with controlled clauses—for example, “The proportion eating weekly was higher in 2006 than in 2013.”

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.