Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-06

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 illustrate the average consumption of three types of nutrients in typical meals consumed in the USA.

Overall, sodium and saturated fat shows more consumption in dinner meal and the added sugar consumption remained low in lunch meal. The proportion of added sugar in snacks shows the big figure than the remaining two nutrients.

Initially, the sodium remained as most consumed nutrient in lunch and dinner meals at 26% and 43% respectively, whereas, added sugar was higher in snacks at 42% and dinner at 23%, however, saturated fat consumption shows higher figures in dinner at 37% followed by lunch at 26%.

By contrast, all the nutrients consumption in breakfast meal did not shown any big figure and remained below 20% but more nutrients were consumed in dinner followed by lunch. The snacks consuming lowest amount of sodium at only 14% followed by 21% consumption of saturated fat in it.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers all parts of the task by identifying the main features of the three nutrients across four meal types. However, the analysis is somewhat mechanical and lacks a clear, analytical focus. While the overview mentions key trends, it is slightly disjointed. The data reporting is generally accurate, but the comparison between categories could be more sophisticated. For instance, instead of listing percentages sequentially, grouping them by nutrient or highlighting the most significant contrasts would improve the clarity of the report. The response meets the requirements but requires more synthesis to reach a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes repetitive or slightly unnatural, such as the frequent use of 'remained' and 'followed by'. The transition between the overview and the body paragraphs is functional, but the flow within paragraphs could be smoother. Referencing is generally clear, but the logical progression is occasionally hindered by awkward phrasing, such as 'did not shown any big figure', which disrupts the flow of information.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. The student relies on basic descriptors like 'big figure' and 'higher figures', which are not ideal for describing statistical data. There are also some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'snacks consuming lowest amount', which should be 'snacks consumed the lowest amount'. To improve, the student should incorporate more precise academic vocabulary related to trends and data, such as 'proportion', 'constitute', or 'significant', rather than repeating simple terms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text, such as 'sodium and saturated fat shows' (subject-verb agreement), 'did not shown' (tense error), and 'big figure than' (incorrect comparative structure). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to be noticeable. The student needs to focus on subject-verb agreement and correct verb tense usage when describing past or static data to improve accuracy.

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

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