Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-29
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 about the proportions of four foods types like breakfast, dinner, lunch and snacks which include three different ingredients such as sodium, saturated fat and added sugar, all of them can be unhealthy if eaten too much.
overall, USA people consumed highest proportions of sodium and saturated fat in their dinner time. while in snacks time they consume high amout of sugar. Whereas, percentage of all three nutrients are low in breakfast time. where eaten too much of snacks was unhealhier.
Typical meals consumed in the USA in breakfast time showed a balanced nutrients where, sodium by 14%, saturated fat and added sugar by 16%. Moreover, lunch contains less amount of sugar by 19% but, sodium and saturated fat are in high percentage 14% and 16% respectively.
Furthermore, Dinner illustrates 43% of sodium and 37% of saturated fat with 23% of added sugar. While snacks contains 14% of sodium and double amout of saturated fat and triple amount of sugar.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response covers all parts of the task well by reporting the main features of the charts and making relevant comparisons. The student successfully identifies the key data points, such as dinner being the highest for sodium (43%) and saturated fat (37%), and snacks being highest for added sugar (42%). An overview is provided in the second paragraph, capturing the main trends. However, there are some minor data inaccuracies and misreadings in the body paragraphs; for instance, the student states that lunch contains sodium and saturated fat at 14% and 16% respectively, whereas the charts show 29% and 26% for lunch. Despite these minor misinterpretations of the figures, the main trends are adequately addressed, earning a solid Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The text has a coherent overall arrangement and attempts a logical progression of ideas, dividing the response into a clear introduction, an overview, and supporting body paragraphs. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different nutrient categories and meals. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. The use of cohesive devices and transitions feels awkward at times, such as 'while in snacks time they consume high amout of sugar' and 'where eaten too much of snacks was unhealhier.' Furthermore, referencing is occasionally unclear, and the mechanical linking between sentences limits fluency. These issues place the response firmly in the Band 6 category for cohesion and logical flow.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the student to communicate basic information about percentages, nutrients, and meals. However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and awkward word choices, such as 'foods types', 'dinner time', 'snacks time', and 'amout' instead of amount. The student attempts some less common vocabulary related to the topic, but word formation and collocation errors recur ('unhealhier'). While these errors do not seriously impede overall communication, they prevent the response from achieving a higher band. The lexical range is minimally sufficient for a Band 5.5 or 6.0, and is best assessed at 5.5 due to the frequency of basic errors.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though attempts at complex structures often contain errors. Examples of grammatical inaccuracies include 'The pie charts illustrates about', 'all of them can be unhealthy', and 'where, sodium by 14%'. Punctuation is also problematic, with misplaced commas and sentence fragments ('where eaten too much of snacks was unhealhier.'). Errors in verb agreement and preposition usage are frequent and sometimes cause difficulty for the reader. Nevertheless, simple sentences are generally understandable, and the writer manages to communicate the core message despite the grammatical shortcomings. This aligns well with the descriptors for Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.