Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-11-05

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.

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

Student answer (Band 4.0)

The pie charts illustrates the average percentages of sodium, saturated fats and added sugars in typical meals consumed by the residents of USA. Four meals : breakfast, dinner, luch and snacks.

overall, both sodium and satured fats were at higher at dinner while snacks carried the large proportion of sugar more than any other nutrients. a

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

The response identifies the chart topic and gives one relevant overview point: dinner has the highest shares of sodium and saturated fat, while snacks have the highest added sugar. However, it does not report any figures or make specific comparisons between meal types, so the main information in the charts is largely missing. The phrase “more than any other nutrients” is also imprecise: snacks have the largest share of added sugar, not more sugar than other nutrients. The response is substantially below the required minimum length, leaving the task only minimally addressed. To improve, include an overview and select key figures—for example, dinner accounts for 43% of sodium and 37% of saturated fat, while snacks make up 42% of added sugar.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is a basic attempt to organise the response: an opening sentence introduces the charts, followed by an overview beginning with “overall.” This gives the reader a simple direction, and the main comparison is understandable. However, the response ends before developing or grouping the data, so there is no clear progression from an overview to supporting details. The overview sentence also combines several ideas awkwardly, and the stray “a” at the end disrupts the flow. Build a complete report with a short introduction, a distinct overview, and one or two paragraphs comparing the figures. Use clear links such as “By contrast” to distinguish the snack pattern from the dinner pattern.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The response uses some relevant chart vocabulary, including “average percentages,” “sodium,” “saturated fats,” “added sugars,” and “proportion.” These terms make the general subject clear. However, the range is very limited, and several spelling or word-choice problems reduce accuracy: “satured” is misspelled, “luch” is incorrect, and “carried the large proportion” is an unnatural collocation. “More than any other nutrients” is also an imprecise way to describe the largest share of added sugar. Use accurate terms such as “accounted for,” “share,” and “highest proportion,” and check spelling carefully. More precise vocabulary would help distinguish the nutrients and meal categories without repeating broad wording.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response attempts a simple introductory sentence and a longer overview sentence, but grammatical control is inconsistent. In “The pie charts illustrates,” the plural subject requires “illustrate.” The fragment “Four meals: breakfast, dinner, luch and snacks” is not a complete sentence, while “overall” should begin with a capital letter. The overview also contains an incomplete construction in “were at higher at dinner,” which makes the comparison difficult to follow. Punctuation is uneven, including the space before the colon and the stray final “a.” Practise forming complete sentences and checking subject–verb agreement, articles, and punctuation. A clear model would be: “Overall, dinner accounted for the highest proportions of sodium and saturated fat.”

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