Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-11-13

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 compares the average proportion in typical meals of sodium, saturated fats and added sugar, all of which may be harmful, if eaten too much.

Overall, it is clear that, sodium and saturated fat are the largest nutrients in dinner and lunch meals consumed, while smallest meals consumed in breakfast in their three nutrients. However, this nutrients are common used in snack.

In dinner, sodium used 43%, saturated fat are used 37% and added sugar used in 23%, this is the largest values. Furthermore, this three nutrients such as sodium, saturated fat and added sugar are commenly used in lunch as 29%, 26% and 19% respectively. However, this nutrients are also used in snack with the following percentage 14% as sodium, 21% as saturated fat and 42% as added sugar.

On the other hand, the smallest amount of nutrients are used such as 14% sodium used in breakfast, 16% saturated fat and 16% added sugar are used in breakfast.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You report several key figures accurately, including dinner’s 43% sodium and 37% saturated fat, and the 42% of added sugar in snacks. You also identify dinner as a major source of sodium and saturated fat. However, the overview is unclear and partly inaccurate: breakfast is not the smallest meal for all three nutrients, since snacks have the lowest sodium share too, at 14%, equal to breakfast. The claim that sodium and saturated fat are the “largest nutrients in dinner and lunch” is imprecise, and the response does not clearly highlight the contrasting pattern that added sugar peaks in snacks. To strengthen the summary, state the main comparisons directly and distinguish the highest and lowest meal for each nutrient rather than making broad claims.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic paragraph structure, moving from an introduction and overview to details about dinner, lunch, snacks, and breakfast. This gives the reader some organisation, and linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Furthermore,” and “On the other hand” show an attempt to connect ideas. However, progression is not consistently clear: the overview makes a broad claim, then the body groups several meals together without a clear comparison framework. Repeated use of “However” does not always signal a genuine contrast, and “this nutrients” makes the reference unclear. Organise the body by nutrient or by the most notable meal patterns, and use linking words only where the relationship between points is clear.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “average proportion,” “percentage,” and “largest values,” so the topic is generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or repetitive. For example, “nutrients are common used in snack” and “sodium used 43%” do not express the data naturally; the chart shows the proportion of each nutrient consumed in meals, rather than nutrients being “used.” “Largest values” is also vague when describing shares. Spelling errors such as “commenly” further reduce precision. Aim for accurate reporting phrases such as “accounted for,” “made up,” and “the highest proportion,” and vary these appropriately.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts some longer sentences and uses basic clauses to report figures, but grammatical control is inconsistent, and errors occur in most sentence patterns. The opening “The pie charts compares” has subject–verb disagreement, while “sodium used 43%” omits the grammatical structure needed to report a share. There are also problems with articles, plurals, and agreement in “this nutrients” and “saturated fat are used.” Commas are sometimes placed awkwardly, as in “it is clear that, sodium.” These errors can make relationships between the figures difficult to follow. Practise reliable reporting structures, such as “Sodium accounted for 43% of dinner,” and check agreement and punctuation in each sentence.

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