Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · 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 4.0)

The pie charts provide information about the percentage of sodium consumed in USA distributed in various sectors related to the consumption of sodium and saturated fat.

All in all, in dinner the sodium is about to 43% in dinner, the people of USA eat sugar about 23% in dinner. In contrast, USA consumed saturated fat about 37%

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

The response identifies a relevant feature—dinner has the highest sodium share at 43%—and also mentions dinner’s 23% added sugar and 37% saturated fat, which match the chart. However, it covers only dinner and does not summarise the other meals or provide a clear overview of the main contrasts, such as snacks having the highest added sugar (42%) and dinner leading in sodium and saturated fat. The opening also misdescribes the charts as being about sodium alone, despite three nutrients being shown. The response is substantially below the required 150 words, leaving the task only minimally addressed. To improve, report the main highs and lows across all four meals and include a concise overview.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

There is a basic attempt to organise the response: an introductory sentence is followed by a summary signalled by “All in all,” and “In contrast.” These markers show an effort to connect ideas. However, the information does not progress into a clear comparison: the second sentence lists dinner figures, while the final contrast does not explain what is being contrasted. The response also has no developed paragraph structure and omits most chart categories, so the reader cannot follow a complete account of the data. Grouping the overview first, then comparing the meals across the three nutrients, would create a clearer progression. Use linking phrases only where the relationship between the figures is explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The response uses some task-relevant vocabulary, including “percentage,” “sodium,” “saturated fat,” and “consumed,” so the topic is generally recognisable. However, the range is narrow and several phrases are imprecise or repetitive: “distributed in various sectors related to the consumption” is cumbersome, and “the people of USA eat sugar” is not a natural way to describe a chart showing added-sugar proportions. “In dinner” is also repeated rather than using varied, accurate meal descriptions. Choose concise chart language such as “accounts for,” “share,” and “meal,” and name “added sugar” precisely. More accurate collocations would make the limited information easier to interpret.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response attempts both a longer introductory sentence and shorter reporting sentences, but its grammatical control is uneven. For example, “in dinner the sodium is about to 43% in dinner” contains an unnecessary “to” and repeats the meal phrase, while “USA consumed saturated fat about 37%” lacks a clear grammatical structure for reporting a percentage. The opening sentence is also difficult to follow because its clauses are not clearly organised. These issues make the relationships between the figures less clear. Practise reliable patterns such as “Dinner accounts for 43% of sodium consumption” and “The figure for saturated fat is 37%.” A wider range of accurate sentence structures would help present comparisons clearly.

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