Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-16
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 4.5)
The given pie chart illustrates the average ratio of three types of nutrients in typical meals :
Firstly sodium, the amount sodium consumed in breakfast is 14% in snacks the ratio is same as that of breakfast, whereas in lunch the percentile is 29% on the other hand, in dinner the percentage is 43%. The second category is saturated fat, in breakfast 16% of saturated fat is consumed whereas in snacks 21%of saturated fat is intaken whereas in dinner 37% of saturated fat is consumed on the other hand 26% of saturated fat is intaken in lunch the another category is added sugar in breakfast the amount of added sugar is 16% whereas in lunch the amount of sugar is 3% more than that breakfast which is 19% on the other hand,in dinner 23% at last, the amount of sugar added to snacks is the highest which is 42%.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.0 |
| Overall | 4.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The student covers all three categories of nutrients (sodium, saturated fat, and added sugar) across the four meal times (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks) and accurately reports the key data points, such as dinner being highest for sodium (43%) and snacks being highest for added sugar (42%). However, there is no overview paragraph provided, which is a key requirement for achieving a Band 6 or higher in Academic Task 1. Furthermore, the response falls just short of the minimum word count at 149 words, resulting in a minor penalty under Task Achievement. To improve, the student must include an introductory overview summarising the main general trends and ensure the minimum word limit is strictly met.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0
The text suffers significantly from a lack of proper paragraphing, as it is written entirely as one single, long block of text. Cohesive devices are extremely repetitive and basic, relying almost entirely on phrases like 'whereas', 'on the other hand', and 'at last', which are often incorrectly punctuated or used in run-on sentences. For example, the sentence starting with 'The second category is saturated fat...' connects multiple independent clauses without proper punctuation or conjunctions. There is no clear logical progression or separation of ideas, making the response difficult to read. To improve, the student should divide the response into logical paragraphs—an introduction, an overview, and separate body paragraphs for the categories—and use a wider variety of cohesive devices.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is relatively basic and repetitive, with frequent reuse of terms like 'amount', 'percentage', 'ratio', and 'consumed'. There are also awkward word choices and phrasing errors, such as 'the percentile is 29%', 'saturated fat is intaken', and 'the another category'. However, the student manages to convey the numerical data accurately using appropriate basic vocabulary related to statistics. Spelling is generally acceptable. To reach a higher band, the student needs to incorporate a wider range of less common lexical items and precise synonyms to describe data, avoiding repetitive phrasing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0
The response is heavily characterised by run-on sentences and comma splices, where multiple distinct clauses are strung together without proper coordination or punctuation (e.g., 'The second category is saturated fat, in breakfast 16% of saturated fat is consumed whereas in snacks 21%of saturated fat is intaken whereas in dinner 37% of saturated fat is consumed on the other hand 26% of saturated fat is intaken in lunch...'). There is a very limited range of complex sentence structures, and punctuation is largely neglected or misused. Errors are frequent and often place a heavy strain on the reader. To improve, the student must focus on sentence boundaries, proper use of conjunctions, and fundamental punctuation rules.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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