Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-25

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 4.0)

The chart shows the percentages of sodium, saturated fats and added sugars in typical meals in the USA.

Sodium is highly consumed in USA during dinner times which is quite surprising, because it is three times more than breakfast, where only 14% of the sugar is consumed

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

You identify the chart’s subject and make one relevant comparison: dinner accounts for 43% of sodium, compared with 14% at breakfast. However, the response reports almost none of the chart’s other key information, including the saturated-fat figures and the fact that added sugar is highest in snacks (42%). The claim that dinner sodium is “three times more” than breakfast is also imprecise: 43% is just over three times 14%, rather than exactly three times. The response is substantially below the required 150 words, so it cannot provide the overview and range of comparisons needed. To improve, give a clear overview of the main contrasts, then support it with accurate figures across all three nutrients and the four meals.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The opening sentence clearly introduces the subject, and the next sentence attempts to develop a comparison, so the limited response has a basic connection between its ideas. However, there is no overview, paragraph development, or progression through the three nutrients. The second sentence ends abruptly and does not complete a full account of the comparison; “where” also makes the reference to breakfast less clear. Organise a full response into an introduction, an overview of the main patterns, and a paragraph comparing the figures. Use clear links such as “By contrast” or “Meanwhile” to guide the reader between meals and nutrients.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The response uses relevant chart vocabulary, including “percentages,” “sodium,” “saturated fats,” and “added sugars,” and the meaning is generally understandable. However, the vocabulary range is very limited, with no varied language for describing proportions or comparisons. Some phrasing is also unnatural: “highly consumed” does not fit well when describing a nutrient’s share of meals, and “during dinner times” is less precise than a direct reference to dinner. The phrase “sugar is consumed” is especially unclear because the chart reports added sugar as a percentage, not the amount of sugar consumed. Use accurate reporting expressions such as “accounted for,” “made up,” and “was highest in” to describe the data.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The first sentence is a clear, correctly formed simple sentence, and the second attempts a longer structure using “because.” This shows some ability to connect clauses, but the response offers little variety in sentence forms. In the second sentence, “it” has an unclear reference: it could refer to sodium or the percentage, making the comparison harder to follow. The clause beginning “where only 14%...” is also awkwardly attached to “breakfast,” and the sentence lacks a final full stop. Aim for complete, clearly linked sentences, for example by stating the dinner and breakfast figures in separate clauses and naming the nutrient explicitly rather than relying on “it” or “sugar.”

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