Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-19
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)
The pie charts illustrate the average percentages in typical meals of three types of nutrients like sodium, saturated fat, and added sugar consumed in the USA. The units measured in percentage(%).
Overall, the figures for sodium, saturated fat, and added sugar accounted for different proportion over the given period like breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.
The USA citizens' dinner constituted for high amount of sodium and saturated fat which may cause health problem. To illustrate, dinner with 43% of sodium, followed by lunch with 29% of sodium. Meanwhile, the figures for snakcs and breakfast showed a combined proportion represented 14% of sodium. Conversely, the snacks included high amount of added sugar with 42% which was a primary contributor among the other figures. The remained figures demonstrated dinner with 23% of added sugar, lunch with 19% of added sugar, and breakfast with 16%. Regarding saturated fat, dinner particularly received a high consumption of saturated fat with 37%. In terms of lunch recorded 26% of saturated fat, followed by snacks with 21%, and breakfast with 16%.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The student successfully reports the main features of the charts, identifying all three nutrients (sodium, saturated fat, and added sugar) across the four meal categories (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks). Key data points are correctly cited, such as dinner containing 43% of sodium and 37% of saturated fat, and snacks accounting for 42% of added sugar. Comparisons are made effectively, such as noting that dinner was the primary contributor for sodium and saturated fat, while snacks dominated added sugar. The overview is present in the second paragraph, though it is slightly repetitive. Overall, all parts of the task are addressed adequately, fitting the criteria for Band 6.5 to 7.0; it is awarded a 6.5 due to minor lapses in overview development.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response has a clear overall progression, moving from an introduction to an overview, followed by detailed body descriptions. Logical connectors and transition phrases are used to guide the reader, such as 'To illustrate', 'Meanwhile', 'Conversely', and 'In terms of'. However, paragraphing is somewhat weak as the entire body of data analysis is lumped into a single dense paragraph rather than being logically split by nutrient or meal type. Referencing is generally clear, though cohesive devices can occasionally feel mechanical or slightly repetitive ('of sodium', 'of added sugar'). This performance aligns well with Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, successfully using terms like 'proportion', 'contributor', 'consumption', and 'constituted'. However, there are notable lexical errors and awkward collocations. For example, 'dinner constituted for high amount' is incorrect (constituted a high amount), 'snakcs' contains a spelling error, and 'remained figures' should be 'remaining figures'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with mixed accuracy, and some phrasing feels repetitive. This places the lexical performance firmly in the Band 6.0 category.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as participial clauses ('which may cause health problem') and relative clauses. There are several grammatical errors present, including missing articles ('cause health problem', 'lunch recorded'), preposition misuse ('constituted for', 'received a high consumption of'), and a pluralization error ('remained figures'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but sentences like 'Meanwhile, the figures for snakcs and breakfast showed a combined proportion represented 14% of sodium' suffer from structural crowding. Because communication remains clear despite these frequent minor errors, a band score of 6.0 is warranted.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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