Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-21

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The charts below show the average percentages in typical meals of three types of nutrients, all of which may be unhealthy if eaten too much.

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

Average percentages of sodium, saturated fats and added sugars in typical meals consumed in the USA

Student answer (Band 4.0)

the chart below show the average percentage in difficult meals of three types of nutrients, all of which may be un healthy if eaten too much .

th sodium chart showing that in USA takes a lot of sodium in snacks which is 14% and in breakdast they take also 14% sodium . And in lunch they took 29% of sodium. And in diiner they took a lot of sodium which 41% from 100%.

In saturated fat USA take daily 21% snacks and in brakfast they took 16% and in lunch they took 26% of saturated fat and in dinner they take 37% of saturated fat from 100% in daily life.

in adder sugar USA taking 42% in snacks and taking 16% in breakfast and taking 19% of adder sugar and 32% of adder sugar from 100% in daily life . which told that the USA is going to vanish

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response attempts to address the prompt by reporting figures for sodium, saturated fat, and added sugar across different meal times. However, the student misinterprets several data points significantly (for example, reporting 41% or 43% for dinner when the actual value is 43% for sodium, but mixing up values or misreading the charts in other places, such as stating added sugar is 32% when the chart indicates 23% for dinner and 42% for snacks). There is no proper introduction or overview; instead, the text immediately launches into flawed data description and concludes with an irrelevant, imaginative remark ('the USA is going to vanish'). Because key features are inaccurately reported and the overview is absent, this performance corresponds to a band 4.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0

The response lacks logical organisation and proper paragraphing. It consists of a single block of text or broken, run-on sentences that do not flow cohesively. Transitional markers are basic and repetitive, relying heavily on 'And in' or 'in'. Referencing is frequently unclear, and there is no clear overall progression of ideas from an introduction to body paragraphs and a concluding summary. The lack of structured layout and mechanical use of cohesive devices prevents the text from achieving a higher score, placing it firmly at band 4.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 4.0

The vocabulary used is extremely basic, repetitive, and narrow ('sodium', 'snacks', 'lunch', 'dinner', 'breakfast'). There are numerous spelling errors throughout the text, such as 'un healthy', 'breakdast', 'diiner', 'brakfast', and 'adder sugar'. The student attempts some numerical reporting, but the lexical control is weak and prone to basic slips that strain the reader. This performance aligns with the descriptors for band 4.0, where vocabulary is basic and repetitive with frequent errors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0

The grammatical range is very limited. The student relies on simple, repetitive sentence patterns like 'In [nutrient] USA take...' or '[nutrient] chart showing that...'. There are persistent grammatical errors, including missing articles, incorrect verb forms ('took', 'taking', 'take' used interchangeably and incorrectly), and punctuation mistakes. Sentences often lack proper structure, making them difficult to parse. Because grammatical errors are frequent and meaning is occasionally distorted or obscured, this warrants a band 4.0.

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