Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-23

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 illustrate the comparison of proportion of sodium, saturated fats and added sugars in a four times of meals consumed in a whole day in the USA.

Overall, In dinner time, sodium is more consumed by the US citizens while the least consumed in breakfast and snacks. Same amount of saturated fats and added sugar were consumed in the breakfast.

In dinner meal, sodium is 43% consumed by the people which is greater in proportion with saturated fat and added sugar which were 37% and 23% respectively. In breakfast, equal amount of saturated fat and added sugar were consumed by the citizens which is 16%.

The amount of added sugar in snacks is larger than saturated fat and sodium which is 42% and they were 21% and 14% respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify several important features accurately: dinner has the highest sodium share at 43%, snacks have the highest added-sugar share at 42%, and breakfast has equal saturated fat and added sugar at 16%. However, the overview is incomplete and partly misleading: sodium is lowest not only at breakfast and snacks, but also breakfast and snacks are tied at 14%, while the response does not summarise the overall pattern for saturated fat. Lunch is omitted entirely, leaving a substantial part of the chart unreported. The response is also below the required 150 words, which limits the opportunity to select and explain the main comparisons. To strengthen the report, include a fuller overview and compare all four meals across the three nutrients.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear basic structure: an introduction, an overview, and two detail paragraphs. The information generally moves from the overall pattern to specific figures, and phrases such as “Overall” and “In dinner meal” help signal the stages of the report. However, the progression is incomplete because lunch is not discussed, and the final paragraph focuses only on snacks rather than developing a balanced comparison across the meals. Some linking is also mechanical, with repeated “In…” openings and repeated references to “consumed.” Organise the details by meal or nutrient and use clearer comparisons between categories so the reader can follow the chart more systematically.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “proportion,” “saturated fats,” “added sugar,” and “greater,” so the topic is generally clear. However, several expressions are unnatural or imprecise, such as “four times of meals,” “In dinner time,” and “more consumed.” These choices make the report less fluent and sometimes obscure the intended comparison. “Amount” is also less suitable than “percentage” or “share” when describing the chart’s figures. Aim for accurate collocations used in data reporting, and vary repeated wording such as “consumed” and “people.” This would make your descriptions more precise without requiring unnecessarily complex vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more developed sentence forms, and the main figures are usually understandable. However, some grammatical errors remain, particularly in articles, agreement, and sentence construction. For example, “The pie charts illustrate the comparison of proportion” needs an article or a different structure, while “Same amount of saturated fats and added sugar were” has an agreement problem and an incomplete article phrase. The capitalisation in “Overall, In dinner time” is also incorrect after the comma. Practise forming accurate comparison sentences, such as “Dinner accounts for 43% of sodium intake, compared with 37% for saturated fat.” More consistent control of these patterns would improve clarity.

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