Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-21
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 distributes the average amount of nutrients consumed during the whole day in traditional eateries, in the USA.Overall, it shows a significant growth in the digestion of sodium, saturated fats and added sugar in the food we eat.
In most of our foods, the sodium substance is present at a large rate, and we consume about 14% of it in our breakfast.Moreover, lunch contributes about 29% of sodium,whereas snacks have 14%.The measurement which stands out the most is at the dinner which is about 43%.Talking about the saturated fat in our daily life,the breakfast comprises of 15% fat and the lunch of 26%.Subsequently, the snacks has a total of 21% and the dinner measures the most which is 37%.
The added sugar chart outweighs the previous ones.The highest amount of added sugar is in snacks which is about 42%,although the dinner is comparatively less sugar contained (23%).16% of added sugar is in breakfast, and 19% is available in lunch,
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 response successfully covers all three nutrients depicted in the charts and makes relevant comparisons between them, such as highlighting that dinner is highest for sodium and saturated fat while snacks dominate for added sugar. The student also provides an overview at the beginning, noting a significant growth in nutrient consumption across meals, although the phrasing 'in traditional eateries' misinterprets the data, which refers to typical meals consumed in the USA generally rather than restaurant dining. Furthermore, a minor slip occurs in reporting saturated fat for breakfast as 15% instead of the actual 16%. Overall, the main features are adequately selected and reported, fulfilling the core requirements of Task 1.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is arranged into a logical overall structure, starting with an introductory overview and proceeding through body sentences for each nutrient. However, paragraphing is poorly executed, as the entire body of the text is crammed into a single block of text rather than being divided into coherent paragraphs. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Moreover', 'Subsequently', and 'although', but referencing and transitions can be a bit mechanical. Logical progression is maintained throughout, but the lack of proper paragraph breaks prevents the response from achieving a higher band in this category.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, with attempts to incorporate less common terms like 'significant growth', 'contributes', and 'outweighs'. However, there are notable inappropriate word choices and collocations, such as 'traditional eateries' instead of meals, 'digestion' instead of consumption, and 'sodium substance' or 'sugar contained'. Spelling and word formation are generally fine, but lexical precision is lacking in places, which restricts the score to a 6.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including subordinate clauses introduced by 'whereas' and 'although'. However, there are several grammatical errors and punctuation issues throughout the text, such as missing spaces after commas and periods (e.g., 'USA.Overall', '14%.Moreover'), subject-verb agreement errors ('the snacks has'), and awkward phrasing ('the breakfast of 15% fat and the lunch of 26%'). Despite these frequent minor errors, communication is not impeded, placing the response firmly at a Band 6.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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