Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-23

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 illustrates the proportion of sodium, saturated fat, and added sugar present in a day meal (Breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner), consumed by the citizens of the U.S.A.

Overall, it was clearly evident that the percentage of added sugar was highest in snacks. While the remaining nutrients were contributed significantly to the dinner.

The highest portion of sodium (43%) and saturated fats were consumed in dinner. Conversely lunch has 29% of sodium and 26% fats, while the morning meal has almost similar portion of all, 14% and 16% respectively

Similarly, added sugar contributed a significant 23% of the dinner. Snacks has the highest, 42% of the added sugar. while the American's consumed 19% in lunch.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student attempts to address the task by summarizing the data across the four meal categories for the three nutrients. An overview is attempted in the second paragraph, pointing out that added sugar is highest in snacks and dinner features heavily in other nutrients. Key features and comparisons are generally accurate, such as correctly identifying 43% for sodium at dinner and 42% for added sugar in snacks. However, the response fails to meet the minimum length requirement of 150 words, stopping short at 117 words. This under-length impacts the overall development and completeness of the task, limiting the response to a Band 5.5 classification under the descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response shows some logical organization, dividing the introduction, overview, and specific nutrient breakdowns into separate paragraphs. However, the paragraphing is somewhat disjointed and short. Cohesive devices are minimal and sometimes awkward, such as starting paragraphs with 'Conversely' and 'Similarly' without robust underlying logical connections. Referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in phrases like 'the morning meal has almost similar portion of all'. The overall progression feels slightly fragmented rather than smoothly flowing, warranting a Band 6.0 score.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'proportion', 'consumed', and 'conversely'. However, there are notable word choice and collocation errors, such as writing 'a day meal' instead of 'daily meals' or 'meals of the day', and 'contributed significantly to the dinner' instead of 'were highest at dinner'. Additionally, there are minor issues with word forms, such as 'fats' mixing with singular nouns. The lexical range is minimally adequate to convey the intended meaning without impeding communication, fitting Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including comparative and introductory clauses. However, there are several grammatical errors and punctuation issues throughout the text. Examples include subject-verb agreement errors like 'The pie charts illustrates' (should be 'illustrates'), missing articles or awkward phrasing in 'Snacks has the highest', and comma splices or fragmented sentence structures in 'while the American's consumed 19% in lunch.' The apostrophe in 'American's' is also incorrect. These errors occur frequently enough to prevent the grammar score from reaching Band 6.5, placing it solidly at Band 5.5.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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