Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-28

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 5.0)

The given pie charts illustrates average ratio of three types of nutrients in typical meals consumed in U.S.A.

The first category is breakfast, the amount of sodium in breakfast is 14% whereas the ratio of saturated fat is 16% on the other hand, ratio added sugar is 16%, The next category is dinner, the ratio of sodium in dinner 43% whereas the percentile of saturated fat in dinner is 37%on the other hand, the proportion of added sugar in dinner is 23%.

The third category is lunch, the amount of sodium in lunch is 29% whereas the ratio of saturated fat is 26%. meanwhile the percentile of added sugar is 19%, on the other hand, the last category is snacks, the amount of sodium in snacks in 14%, whereas the amount of saturated fat in snacks is 21%

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response attempts to cover the data across the four meal categories for the three nutrients. However, there are significant accuracy errors in reporting the figures; for instance, dinner sodium is stated as 43% (which is correct), but saturated fat in dinner is listed as 37%, and added sugar in snacks is stated as 42%. More importantly, the response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, stopping at 138 words. There is also a lack of an overview paragraph, which is essential for a Band 6 or higher in Academic Task 1. Consequently, these shortcomings limit the task achievement score to Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The text suffers from severe structural and paragraphing deficiencies. The entire body of the response is crammed into just two excessively long run-on sentences, completely lacking proper paragraph breaks or an introductory overview. Cohesive devices are repetitive and mechanical, relying almost exclusively on commas, 'whereas', and 'on the other hand' joined incorrectly. For example, the student writes: '...saturated fat is 16% on the other hand, ratio added sugar is 16%, The next category is dinner...' resulting in severe comma splices and run-on structures. Progression is obscured by this lack of clear logical organization and punctuation, meriting a Band 4.5, rounded to 5.0 for some attempt at ordering categories.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, frequently reusing words like 'ratio', 'amount', 'proportion', and 'percentage'. There are awkward word choices and phrasing, such as 'ratio added sugar' (omitting prepositions) and 'percentile of saturated fat' (using 'percentile' incorrectly instead of percentage). While the vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the basic data points, the range is limited and contains noticeable errors, restricting the lexical score to a Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

Grammatical control is weak throughout the response. The writing is characterized by major punctuation errors, specifically severe run-on sentences and comma splices, such as '...saturated fat is 37%on the other hand, the proportion...' where words are run together without spaces, and clauses are improperly linked. There is a very limited range of sentence structures attempted, consisting almost entirely of repetitive clauses strung together with coordinating phrases. Frequent structural errors impede smooth reading, justifying a Band 5.0.

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

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