Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-11-04

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 show the average percentages of three different types of nutrients in breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. These includes sodium, saturated fat and added sugar.

These nutrients are beneficial for human body, however, it is unhealthy when consumed too much.

Dinner represents forty three percent in sodium and thirty seven percent in saturated fat, which is the highest amount compared to breakfast, lunch and snacks. Snacks fills the biggest part in added sugars which is forty two percent.

Breakfast accounts the lowest and the smallest amount in all three nutrients.

If you make a result on which food is the healthiest and which one is unhealthy by looking at these three paragraphs, the healthiest one is breakfast and the unhealthiest meal is dinner.

In conclusion, it is essential to eat all three meals so because of that, people need to measure the nutrients in their meals in order not to eat more than what they should eat to get the benefits, not the bad effects.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main extremes accurately: dinner has the highest shares of sodium (43%) and saturated fat (37%), while snacks lead in added sugar (42%). However, the account is only partial because it omits several useful comparisons, especially lunch’s relatively high sodium and saturated-fat figures and the differences between breakfast and snacks. The claim that breakfast is lowest in all three nutrients is inaccurate: breakfast and snacks both have 14% sodium, and breakfast’s 16% added sugar is lower than the other meals, but the chart does not establish which meal is “healthiest” overall. The final advice about measuring nutrients is not required by this descriptive task. A fuller overview and more precise reporting would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic sequence: an introduction, statements about the highest figures, a health-related conclusion, and a final paragraph. This gives the reader some organisation, and the comparisons between dinner and snacks are easy to follow. However, the progression is not consistently focused on describing the charts: the discussion of which meal is healthiest and the general advice interrupt the data summary. The short paragraphs also do not group the information into a clear overview followed by supporting comparisons. Linking is limited, and phrases such as “If you make a result” do not clearly connect the point to the chart. Organise the response around an overview and then compare the meal categories systematically.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary is sufficient to identify the chart’s subject and report basic proportions, with terms such as “average percentages,” “represents,” and “accounts” showing some attempt at task-appropriate language. However, the range is limited and several choices are inaccurate or unnatural, including “These includes,” “snacks fills the biggest part,” and “make a result.” Repetition of “amount” and “nutrients” also makes the description less precise. Use standard chart language such as “accounts for,” “has the largest share,” and “percentage” or “proportion,” and distinguish clearly between a meal’s share of a nutrient and the meal itself. More accurate collocations would make the comparisons easier to understand.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response relies mainly on short, simple statements, with little variety in sentence structure. Some sentences communicate the figures clearly, but errors recur and sometimes make the relationships between ideas difficult to follow. For example, “These includes” has subject–verb disagreement, while “Breakfast accounts the lowest” is missing a required preposition and has an unclear construction. The sentence beginning “If you make a result” is also structurally awkward, and “it is unhealthy when consumed too much” has an unclear subject reference. Work on agreement, articles and prepositions, and practise combining comparisons in controlled complex sentences. More consistent punctuation and sentence patterns would improve accuracy and readability.

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

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