Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-03
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 chart illustrates information about Average percentages of sodium, saturated fats and added sugars in typical meals consumed in the USA. There are four different meals named as Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch and Snacks as Sodium and Saturated fat. The highest percentage is in Dinner which is 43% and 37% respectively, followed by Lunch 29% and 26%. The two lowest categories are Snacks and Breakfast, which are 14%, 21% and 16%. Additionally, there is an other category too, named as Added sugar. In this, Maximum meal is Snacks 42% and Minimum meal is breakfast 16%. Different individuals were having different choices based on their tastes. This data is taken from the USA. Overall, individuals prefers most meals to be dinner and Snacks is less prefered in Sodium and Saturated fat. While, in added sugar, people consume snacks in a large amount, and healthy options, meals like breakfast is less prefered.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The response addresses all parts of the task by presenting data for sodium, saturated fats, and added sugars across breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Key features are successfully selected and reported, such as noting that dinner has the highest percentages for sodium at 43% and saturated fats at 37%, while snacks peak for added sugar at 42%. However, some ideas are under-developed or unclear, particularly in the reporting of figures where sentences like 'The two lowest categories are Snacks and Breakfast, which are 14%, 21% and 16%' lack clear association between the values and specific nutrients. Furthermore, the inclusion of irrelevant personal speculation ('Different individuals were having different choices based on their tastes') detracts from the objectivity required in Academic Task 1.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The text maintains a coherent overall arrangement and attempts to organize information logically by categorizing data across meals and nutrients. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty. The transitions between sentences and paragraphs feel abrupt, and referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the sudden introduction of 'an other category too' without smooth logical linking. Paragraphing is not used effectively to separate distinct trends or categories, resulting in a dense block of text that lacks clear overall progression and makes the relationships between the data points harder to follow.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'percentage', 'categories', 'maximum', and 'minimum'. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary and comparative structures, but this is accompanied by some word-choice and collocation errors, such as 'maximum meal is Snacks' and 'meals like breakfast is less prefered'. Spelling is generally acceptable, and minor lexical inaccuracies like writing 'other' as 'an other' do not impede overall communication, though they prevent the vocabulary score from rising higher.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over basic structures. There are, however, several grammatical and punctuation errors present throughout the text. These include subject-verb agreement issues, such as 'individuals prefers' and 'meals like breakfast is', as well as awkward prepositional use and awkward phrasing like 'Different individuals were having different choices'. While these errors persist, they rarely impede communication, allowing the reader to follow the main statistical trends being reported.
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