Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-03

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 6.0)

The pie chart graph portrays the average percentages of the three different types of nutrients in meals, where all of these are unhealthy if taken too much.

Overall, two of these three nutrients, sodium and the saturated fat, are majorly present in the dinner. Whereas on other hand, all of these are in lowest percentage in the breakfast meals.

With regard to first nutrient, sodium, the dinner comprises of almost half of this nutrient portion, around 43%. Following to this, comes the lunch. Almost 23% of lunch meals consists of sodium. Whereas, both snack and breakfast have 28% of sodium collectively, exactly 14% in each.

There comes the second nutrient, the saturated fats. The graph depicts that just like sodium, most amount of saturated fat, almost 37%, is in the dinner meals. While only 16% is observed in the morning meals, around 26% saturated fat is recorded in lunch. Similarily, snacks consist of around 21% of this nutrient.

Lastly, added sugar makes significant portion, 42% of the snacks. Moving onwards, 23% of the dinner meals is sugar. Both breakfast and lunch consist of 16% and 19% of added sugar repsectively.

In summary, dinner demonstrated major portions of saturated fat and sodium, whereas lowest percentages of almost every nutrient came in breakfast.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all parts of the task by identifying the main features of the three nutrients across the four meal types. You successfully highlighted the key trends, such as dinner being the primary source of sodium and saturated fats, and snacks being the highest source of added sugar. However, the report could be improved by making more direct comparisons between the categories rather than listing data for each nutrient in isolation. For instance, noting that sodium and saturated fat share a similar distribution pattern would have strengthened the analysis. The overview is clear and provides a good summary of the main trends.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs for each nutrient, and a concluding summary. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate different ideas. You use a variety of cohesive devices such as 'With regard to', 'Following to this', 'Moving onwards', and 'In summary'. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical or forced, such as 'There comes the second nutrient'. Additionally, the referencing in the third paragraph ('both snack and breakfast have 28% of sodium collectively') is a bit clunky. Improving the flow between sentences would help the text read more naturally.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'portrays', 'comprises', 'significant portion', and 'observed'. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'pie chart graph' (it is just a pie chart) and 'majorly present' (which is not standard academic phrasing). You also have some minor spelling errors like 'Similarily' and 'repsectively'. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more precise academic collocations and ensure spelling accuracy, as these minor slips slightly detract from the overall professional tone of the report.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'the saturated fat' (unnecessary article), 'Following to this' (incorrect preposition), and 'dinner comprises of' (the verb 'comprise' does not take 'of'). There are also issues with subject-verb agreement and article usage throughout the text. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on consistent control of articles and prepositions will significantly improve your accuracy.

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

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