Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-30
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 5.5)
The given pie charts illustrate the average percentages in usual meals of three kinds of nutrients,if any of them eaten too much would be unheralthy.Overall the dinner accounted the most in sodium and saturated fat whereas,snacks accounted the most percentage in added sugar.
In detail, Sodium and saturated fat record most for the dinner with 43% and 37% respectively, while the lunch had 29% of Sodium and 26% saturated fat in the lunch.The snack and breakfast had equal consumption of 14% of Sodium and in breakfast the percentage gotted different with 21% for snack and 16% for breakfast of sodium fat.
the other chart of added sugar had different condition according to the percentage from the first two as they had the most in dinner .Here the snack accounted the most with 42%.The consumption of added sugar at dinner was 23% and at lunch it declined to 19% following the same pattern with breakfast 16% with little less then lunch.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The student successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the three charts. An overview is provided in the first paragraph, noting that dinner accounts for the most sodium and saturated fat, while snacks dominate added sugar. Key data points are selected and compared, such as sodium peaking at dinner with 43% and added sugar peaking in snacks at 42%. However, there are minor confusions in data reporting, such as the sentence stating 'in breakfast the percentage gotted different with 21% for snack and 16% for breakfast of sodium fat', which muddies the specific data values for saturated fat and sodium. Despite these minor lapses, the response adequately addresses the visual information.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The response has a coherent overall arrangement and attempts logical organisation by grouping the information into an introduction and body paragraphs. However, paragraphing is somewhat weak, and the flow is disrupted by awkward transitions and confusing referencing. For instance, phrases like 'the other chart of added sugar had different condition' and 'following the same pattern with breakfast 16% with little less then lunch' make the progression of ideas mechanical and hard to follow. Cohesive devices are used, but their inaccurate deployment affects the overall readability of the report.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms like 'percentages', 'consumption', and 'declined'. However, there are several lexical errors and awkward word choices, such as 'unheralthy' (unhealthy), 'gotted' (got), and 'sodium fat'. Furthermore, the phrase 'accounted the most in' is non-standard collocation in this context. While the vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main data points, the frequent errors and restricted flexibility prevent the score from reaching a higher band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'The given pie charts illustrate...'. However, grammatical control is weak throughout the response, featuring frequent errors such as 'if any of them eaten too much would be unheralthy' (missing subject/verb agreement and tense issues) and 'while the lunch had 29% of Sodium and 26% saturated fat in the lunch' (clumsy phrasing and repetition). Punctuation is also problematic, with missing spaces after commas and periods. These errors cause some difficulty for the reader.
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