Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-14
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 provided pie charts compare the average percentage of three varieties of nutrients: Sodium, Saturated fat, and Added sugar in typical American meals.
Overall, Sodium and Saturated fat are mostly found in dinner, while Added sugar is usually found in snack. Additionally, Breakfast is generally having the lowest Sodium, Saturated fat, and Added sugar compares with the other meals.
Looking at the details at Sodium, Dinner constitute the majority with 43% of the total share. Lunch form the second largest group with 29%, followed by Breakfast and snack with 14% each. Saturated fat mirrored a similar trend; having dominate by dinner with 37%. Lunch ranked second with 26%, followed by snack at 21% and breakfast at 16%.
Regarding Added sugar, Snack become the highest type of meal that contain added sugar with 42%, followed by Dinner at 23%. Lunch and Breakfast ranked third and fourth with 19% and 16% respectively.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5
The response successfully covers all parts of the task by summarising the main features of the three charts and making relevant comparisons. An overview is provided, highlighting that sodium and saturated fat are mostly found in dinner, whereas added sugar is highest in snacks, and breakfast consistently has the lowest percentages. Key data points are accurately selected and reported, such as dinner accounting for 43% of sodium and snacks comprising 42% of added sugar. The information is well-supported with specific figures from the charts. Although the text meets the minimum word requirement precisely at 150 words, the ideas are sufficiently extended and the overall task response aligns well with the Band 7 descriptors.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5
The essay displays clear logical organisation and progression throughout. It is divided into an introduction, an overview paragraph, and two body paragraphs detailing the specific charts. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'Additionally', 'Looking at the details at', and 'Regarding Added sugar' are used to structure the response effectively, though some referencing and prepositions are slightly unnatural (e.g., 'details at Sodium'). Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the overview from the detailed body points, ensuring the reader can easily follow the comparison of nutrients across the different meal types. This performance fits comfortably within the Band 7 criteria for cohesion and coherence.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate and sufficiently varied range of vocabulary to describe statistical data, employing terms such as 'proportion', 'majority', 'share', and 'respectively'. However, there are notable word choice and preposition errors, such as 'details at Sodium', 'Dinner constitute', and 'Lunch form', which demonstrate a lack of subject-verb agreement and incorrect collocational phrasing. Additionally, 'Snack become the highest type of meal that contain added sugar' contains tense and lexical inaccuracies. While the vocabulary is minimally sufficient to convey the intended meaning, these frequent minor errors in word formation and collocation prevent the response from achieving a higher band, placing it at Band 6.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and introductory prepositional phrases. However, grammatical accuracy is hindered by several noticeable errors. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('Dinner constitute', 'Lunch form', 'Snack become... that contain'), tense inconsistency ('Breakfast is generally having'), and awkward preposition usage ('compares with'). Despite these errors, they rarely impede communication, and the overall meaning remains clear. Because there is a reasonable attempt at complex structures alongside recurring grammatical slips, this performance aligns closely with the Band 6 descriptors.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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