Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-01
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 5.5)
Given three charts illustrate the average healthy proportion of three types of nutrients in our meals.
Overall, there are a lot of fluctuations in the use of nutrients ranging from minimum 14% to maximum of 43% per meal. Charts show their use in four different meals like breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner.
Firstly, sodium's minimum use is same in snacks and breakfast as low as 14% each. While it's healthy amount of use in lunch is 29% with a big surge it reaches 43% in dinner.
Secondly, saturated fat's use in in breakfast as low with only 16% and jumps to 21% in snacks. While it's use in lunch is about a quarter. With highest proportion of 37% in dinner.
Thirdly, added sugar has smallest healthy proportion of 16% in breakfast while it reaches 19% in lunch with slight increase. It's second biggest proportion is 23% in dinner and biggest proportion reaches up to 42% in snacks.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers all three nutrients and identifies key features such as the highest and lowest values. However, the analysis is somewhat descriptive rather than analytical. For instance, while you mention the 43% peak for sodium at dinner, you could have more effectively compared this to the other nutrients or highlighted the overall trend of dinner being the most 'unhealthy' meal across all categories. The introduction is slightly inaccurate, as the charts show 'unhealthy' proportions rather than 'healthy' ones, which misinterprets the prompt. To reach a higher band, ensure you provide a more cohesive overview that synthesizes the data rather than listing figures meal by meal.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the information. You use transition words like 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'Thirdly' to structure the response. However, the cohesion is somewhat mechanical and repetitive. The overview paragraph is a bit weak and does not fully link the data points together. To improve, try using a wider variety of cohesive devices and ensure that the progression between sentences feels more natural rather than just a list of facts. The paragraphing is appropriate, but the internal flow within paragraphs could be more sophisticated.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'fluctuations', 'proportion', and 'surge'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice, such as referring to the data as 'healthy proportion' when the prompt explicitly states these are 'unhealthy' if eaten in excess. Additionally, there are minor errors in collocation, such as 'it's healthy amount of use in lunch', where 'its' (possessive) should be used instead of 'it's' (it is). Expanding your vocabulary to include more precise descriptors for trends would help elevate your score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response uses a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, particularly with the misuse of apostrophes (e.g., 'sodium's', 'it's' used for possessives) and missing articles (e.g., 'in in breakfast'). While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and punctuation errors. Incorporating more varied complex sentence structures, such as using relative clauses or participle phrases, would also demonstrate a wider grammatical range.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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