Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-11-05

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.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Average percentages of sodium, saturated fats and added sugars in typical meals consumed in the USA

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The pie charts illustrates the proportion of meals which have three different types of nutrients those are unhealthy when eating too much.

Overall, there are three types of unhealthy nutrients such as Sodium, Saturated Fat and Added Sugar. people takes this type of unhealthy nutrients mostly in dinner whereas they carefull about it in breakfast. The proportion of sodium in snacks item and in breakfast is same where people like to take sugar in their snacks. Most interestingly same percentage of sugar and fat is used in breakfast.

According to the first charts, 43% of sodium is added in dinner which is the highest proportion among them. Equal percentage of sodium is added in brerakfast and snacks which is 14% and 29%. On the other hand 29% of sodium is added in lunch.

Secondly, 27% and 26% of saturated fat is added in dinner and lunch whereas 21% and 16% is added in sancks and breakfast.

Finally, Highest percemntage of sugar is added in snacks which is 42% whereas 23% sugar is added in dinner. Limiter percentage of sugar is used in breakfast and lunch which is 16% and 19%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the three nutrients and report several key figures, including dinner as the largest share for sodium and saturated fat, and snacks as the largest for added sugar. However, some comparisons are unclear or inaccurate: you say people consume the nutrients “mostly in dinner,” although added sugar peaks in snacks, and the saturated-fat figure for dinner is 27% rather than 37%. The sentence about sodium gives breakfast and snacks as “14% and 29%,” contradicting the chart, where both are 14% and lunch is 29%. Your overview also says people are careful at breakfast, which is not supported by the data. Select the main patterns accurately and summarise them clearly to address the task more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for the three nutrients. Sequencing words such as “According to,” “Secondly,” and “Finally” help readers follow the categories. However, progression within some paragraphs is weakened by confusing statements, particularly the sodium sentence that assigns 29% to breakfast or snacks before repeating it for lunch. The overview also combines several comparisons without making their relationships clear. Use more precise linking and organise each nutrient’s figures in a consistent order, while ensuring that each sentence develops one comparison. This would make the overall arrangement more coherent and reduce the effort needed to interpret the data.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “proportion,” “percentage,” and the names of the nutrients, so the topic is generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are unsuitable for describing chart data. For example, nutrients are not “added in dinner,” and “people like to take sugar” sounds informal and does not accurately describe a percentage. Repetition of “added” and “percentage” also makes the report less precise. Spelling errors such as “brerakfast,” “sancks,” and “percemntage” are noticeable. Build a more accurate set of reporting expressions, such as “accounted for,” “consumed at,” and “the share of,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentences, and the reader can usually identify the intended comparisons. However, grammatical control is inconsistent, with errors in agreement, articles, and sentence construction. For instance, “The pie charts illustrates” has a plural subject with a singular verb, while “people takes” also has incorrect subject–verb agreement. The opening sentence, “three different types of nutrients those are unhealthy,” is not correctly joined, and “same percentage of sugar and fat is used” lacks a clear grammatical relationship between the items. Capitalisation and punctuation are also inconsistent, as in “people” after a full stop. Practise accurate sentence patterns for describing proportions and check agreement and sentence boundaries.

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