Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-17

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 the mean percentages in typical meals of three types of nutrients( sodium, saturated fat and added sugar) in the USA.

Overall, dinner has the dominant figure of nutrients, while breakfast has the smallest proportion. However, snacks contain the highest proportion of the added sugar, whereas lunch has almost a similar share of nutrients.

In detail, a 43% of sodium is got from dinner, while a 29% of sodium is find from lunch. Additionally, a similar 14% of sodium is gain from breakfast and snacks. Furthermore, saturated fat is also mainly gain from dinner. Dinner provides 37% of saturated fats, while lunch provides 26% of saturated fats. A 21% and a 16% is gained from snacks and breakfast respectively.

Turning to the added sugar, just in added sugar, a 42% of this nutrient gain from snacks, and a 23% from dinner

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the chart’s subject and report several accurate figures, including dinner’s 43% share of sodium and 37% of saturated fat, as well as snacks’ 42% of added sugar. The overview also recognises the contrast between dinner and snacks. However, the claim that breakfast has the smallest proportion is not true across all nutrients, and the statement that lunch has “almost a similar share” is unclear. The added-sugar section is incomplete: it omits breakfast’s 16% and lunch’s 19%, and the response ends without a full summary. The response is also 14 words below the 150-word minimum (the nine words copied from the prompt are excluded), limiting coverage of the data. Include a complete overview and compare all three nutrients more clearly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and detail paragraphs, with “In detail” and “Turning to the added sugar” guiding the reader through the information. This gives the report an overall coherent arrangement. However, the progression is weakened because the final paragraph stops after only two added-sugar figures, leaving the comparison unfinished. Some linking is also mechanical, particularly the repeated “while” and “Additionally”/“Furthermore” transitions. The overview’s “lunch has almost a similar share of nutrients” does not clearly connect to a specific comparison. To improve, group the figures by the main pattern—dinner’s high sodium and saturated fat versus snacks’ high sugar—and complete each comparison before moving on.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary such as “percentages,” “proportion,” “dominant figure,” and “provides,” and the nutrient names are generally clear. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, including “a 43% of sodium,” “is got from dinner,” and “is gain from breakfast.” Repeating “provides” and “gain” also limits the range of precise reporting language. These choices sometimes make the intended meaning less fluent, even though the figures remain understandable. Use standard chart-reporting phrases such as “accounts for,” “makes up,” or “the share of sodium in dinner,” and vary the verbs carefully. Check that each phrase describes a meal’s percentage rather than implying the nutrient is obtained from it.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including contrasts with “while” and an overview beginning “Overall.” However, errors occur frequently in basic sentence patterns and verb forms, which makes some sentences awkward to read. For example, “a 43% of sodium is got from dinner” has an incorrect article and passive construction, while “a 29% of sodium is find from lunch” uses an incorrect verb form. In “A 21% and a 16% is gained,” the plural subject does not agree with “is.” The final sentence is also incomplete in meaning because the comparison is left unfinished. Practise accurate active constructions, such as “Dinner accounts for 43% of sodium,” and check articles, agreement, and sentence completion.

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

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