Cambridge 12 Writing Task 1 Test 4 - Sample Answers (Band 9 to 4-5)

Real band 9, 8, 7 and 6.5 sample answers for this prompt, plus a genuine band 4-5 answer so you can see exactly what pulls a score down. Every sample comes with examiner-style notes on Task Achievement, Coherence & Cohesion, Lexical Resource and Grammatical Range & Accuracy.

The Prompt

Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in the UK

The chart below shows the percentage of people in the UK who ate five portions of fruit and/or vegetables per day in 2006, broken down by age group and gender.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

The Data

% of people eating 5 portions of fruit/vegetables per day (UK, 2006)

16–24: Male 22%, Female 28%

25–34: Male 23%, Female 33%

35–44: Male 25%, Female 34%

45–54: Male 28%, Female 35%

55–64: Male 30%, Female 37%

65–74: Male 32%, Female 39%

75+: Male 35%, Female 44%

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Band 9

187 words

Goes beyond the obvious trend to spot that the gender gap itself widens with age, a genuinely higher-order observation.

The chart compares the percentage of men and women in the UK who ate the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables per day in 2006, across seven age groups.

Overall, two consistent patterns are visible: women outperformed men in every single age group, and the percentage of people meeting the recommendation rose steadily with age for both genders.

Among the youngest group, aged 16 to 24, only 22% of men and 28% of women ate five portions a day, the lowest figures recorded for either gender. These percentages climbed steadily through each successive age bracket, reaching 28% for men and 35% for women in the 45 to 54 age group, roughly the midpoint of the range shown.

The trend continued into old age, culminating in the 75-and-over group, where 35% of men and 44% of women met the recommendation, the highest figures for both genders. Notably, the gender gap itself widened slightly with age, from six percentage points among 16 to 24 year olds to nine points among the oldest group, suggesting that healthy eating habits diverge somewhat further between men and women later in life.

Examiner Notes

Task Achievement: Covers all fourteen data points across seven age groups and two genders with a precise overview identifying both the consistent gender gap and the age-related trend, and the observation about the widening gap is a genuinely sophisticated additional detail.

Coherence & Cohesion: A clear overview precedes chronologically organised detail, with cohesive devices ("notably", "culminating in") linking the trend naturally.

Lexical Resource: Precise, varied language ("outperformed", "culminating in", "diverge") used accurately throughout.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Wide range of accurate structures, including comparatives and participle clauses, used with full control.

Band 8

173 words

Accurate and clearly organised, just missing the extra layer of analysis a band 9 answer adds about the gender gap itself.

The chart shows the percentage of men and women in the UK who ate five portions of fruit and vegetables a day in 2006, across seven different age groups.

Overall, women were more likely than men to eat the recommended amount in every age group, and the percentage of people meeting this target increased steadily as age increased, for both genders.

In the youngest age group, 16 to 24, only 22% of men and 28% of women ate five portions a day, which were the lowest figures on the chart. These numbers rose gradually through the middle age groups, reaching 28% for men and 35% for women by the 45 to 54 age group.

The oldest age group, 75 and over, had the highest percentages for both genders, at 35% for men and 44% for women. This means that older people in the UK were generally more likely to eat enough fruit and vegetables than younger people, and women were consistently ahead of men at every stage of life shown in the chart.

Examiner Notes

Task Achievement: Covers all fourteen figures accurately with a clear overview identifying both trends, though it stops short of the band 9 answer's additional observation about the gender gap changing in size with age.

Coherence & Cohesion: Clearly organised with an overview followed by chronologically ordered detail; cohesive devices are accurate throughout.

Lexical Resource: Good range of vocabulary for comparison, though "were generally more likely" is slightly less precise than the higher-band answer's more analytical phrasing.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Accurate throughout, with a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures.

Band 7

157 words

All figures are correct and the two trends are identified, but the closing analysis stays fairly general.

The chart gives information about the percentage of men and women in the UK who ate five portions of fruit and vegetables per day in 2006, for seven different age groups.

Overall, women ate the recommended amount more often than men in every age group, and older people were more likely to eat enough fruit and vegetables than younger people.

For the youngest group, aged 16 to 24, only 22% of men and 28% of women reached the target. This number went up for both men and women as the age groups got older, reaching 28% for men and 35% for women by the 45 to 54 age group.

The highest percentages were in the oldest age group, 75 and over, where 35% of men and 44% of women ate enough fruit and vegetables. This shows that age and gender both seem to affect how likely someone is to eat a healthy amount of fruit and vegetables.

Examiner Notes

Task Achievement: Reports all fourteen figures accurately with a basic overview, but the closing sentence is a general restatement rather than a genuinely analytical observation like the higher-band answers provide.

Coherence & Cohesion: Clearly organised chronologically by age group, though "went up" and "reaching" are repeated throughout.

Lexical Resource: Adequate range for the task; figures are accurate but connecting language stays fairly plain throughout.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Generally accurate, mostly simple sentence structures; meaning is always clear.

Band 6.5

159 words

The figures are all correct, but agreement errors appear in almost every sentence.

The chart give information about percentage of men and women in UK who eat five portion of fruit and vegetable per day in 2006, for seven different age group.

Overall, women eat recommended amount more often than men in every age group, and older people is more likely to eat enough fruit and vegetable than younger people.

For youngest group, aged 16 to 24, only 22% of men and 28% of women reach the target. This number go up for both men and women as age group get older, reach 28% for men and 35% for women by 45 to 54 age group.

The highest percentage was in oldest age group, 75 and over, where 35% of men and 44% of women eat enough fruit and vegetable. This show that age and gender both seem to affect how likely someone eat healthy amount of fruit and vegetable. This pattern was consistent across almost every age group shown in chart.

Examiner Notes

Task Achievement: Reports all fourteen figures accurately with a basic overview, matching the content of the band 7 answer.

Coherence & Cohesion: Clearly organised chronologically by age group, following the same structure as the higher-band answers.

Lexical Resource: Limited by "portion", "group" and "vegetable" being used without their plural forms throughout.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Frequent subject-verb agreement errors ("chart give", "older people is", "this number go up", "age group get older", "this show") appear in nearly every sentence.

Band 4-5 - What to Avoid

52 words

No exact figures anywhere in the report, plus a speculative aside that has no place in a data-description task.

This chart show fruit and vegetable eating in UK. Woman eat more than man in every group.

Old people eat more than young people, this number go up with age.

I think this is because old people have more time to cook healthy food, young people too busy with job I think.

Examiner Notes

Task Achievement: No exact figures are given anywhere in the response despite the task requiring precise reporting across fourteen data points, and the closing sentence speculates about why older people eat more healthily, which is outside the scope of a data report. At well under 150 words, the response is also underlength.

Coherence & Cohesion: Reads as three short, disconnected remarks rather than an organised comparison across all seven age groups and two genders.

Lexical Resource: Vague, repetitive vocabulary ("more than", "go up") used instead of the specific figures given in the chart.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Frequent errors throughout ("chart show", "Woman eat more than man", "Old people eat more than young people").

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These sample answers are written independently for Prep IELTS Now to illustrate real band-score differences. They are a study aid, not official Cambridge or IELTS material.