Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The given charts present the comparison of sodium, saturated fat and added sugar in typical meals in the USA, which might be harmful for health in case of over eating.

Overall, meals served for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack are the main source of the described nutrients. Importantly, quantitative percentage of the nutrients is depend on the meal type.

As can be seen that all of the nutrients having almost same percentage from breakfast. However, added sugar is doubled of saturated fat in snack and sodium in is the lowest quantity with 14 %.

43 % of Sodium comes from dinner meal while 37 % saturated fat and 23% of added sugar is also comes form of with 43 % is the highest can be obtained in high percentage in dinner meal which is 43 %

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response attempts to summarise the main features of the charts regarding nutrient consumption across typical meals in the USA, but it fails to meet the minimum word count of 150 words, coming in at 136 words. Furthermore, the final paragraph becomes highly fragmented, repetitive, and incoherent ('is also comes form of with 43 % is the highest can be obtained in high percentage in dinner meal which is 43 %'), making it difficult to fully assess the data reporting. While an overview is attempted and some key data points like the 43% sodium in dinner are mentioned, the lack of complete development and the under-length penalty restrict the score to Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is divided into short paragraphs, but the logical flow breaks down significantly towards the end. The introduction and second paragraph attempt to introduce the topic and outline general trends, but cohesive devices are used clumsily (e.g., 'Importantly, quantitative percentage of the nutrients is depend on'). The final paragraph is a confused jumble of phrases and repeated data fragments, which completely disrupts logical progression and readability. Referencing and paragraphing are poorly managed in the concluding section, resulting in a Band 5.0 for Coherence and Cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student uses an adequate basic vocabulary related to food and nutrition (sodium, saturated fat, added sugar, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack). However, there are notable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'over eating' (instead of overeating), 'quantitative percentage', and 'is depend on' (instead of depends on). Attempts at less common vocabulary are either inaccurate or awkwardly phrased. The vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the topic, but frequent lexical inaccuracies limit the score to Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There is a very limited range of sentence structures, and attempts at complex sentences frequently result in grammatical errors. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('all of the nutrients having', 'percentage is depend'), awkward phrasing ('sodium in is the lowest quantity'), and broken syntax in the final sentence ('is also comes form of with 43 % is the highest can be obtained in high percentage in dinner meal which is 43 %'). These frequent errors cause considerable difficulty for the reader and obscure meaning, placing the response firmly in the Band 5.0 category.

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