Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-15

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 bar chart illustrates the proportion of typical meals of sodium, saturated fat, and added sugar nutrients, which may be unhealthy if consumes too much.

Overall, dinner accounts for the largest proportion of sodium and saturated fat consumption, whereas snack made up the highest proportion of added sugar intake. Breakfast consistently represent the smallest share of all three nutrients.

Dinner accounts for the highest proportion of both sodium and saturated fat at, 43% and 37% respectively. launch was the second largest contributor 29% sodium and 26% saturated fat. In contrast, breakfast share the smallest proportion 14% sodium and 16% for saturated fat. Snacks accounted for 14% consumption while their contribution to saturated fat was sightly higher, at 21%.

A different pattern can be seen in the consumption of added sugar. Snacks made up the largest proportion, at 42%, which was almost twice the figure for dinner, at 23%. Lunch accounted for 19% of added sugar intake, while breakfast had the lowest percentage, at 16%. Notably, breakfast had the same proportion of added sugar and saturated fat, whereas snacks showed a much higher contribution to added sugar than to either sodium or saturated fat.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The student successfully addresses all parts of the prompt by selecting, reporting, and comparing the main features of the visual data. The response includes an appropriate overview that captures the highest and lowest points across the three nutrients. Data points such as dinner providing 43% of sodium and snacks accounting for 42% of added sugar are cited accurately from the charts. The comparisons between meals are relevant and effectively highlight the differences between sodium/saturated fat and added sugar. While the student misidentifies the chart type in the introduction (calling it a bar chart instead of a pie chart), this minor slip does not detract from the clear presentation of information, aligning well with the Band 7 requirements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The text demonstrates a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Information is divided into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, an overview, and separate body paragraphs detailing the specific nutrients. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'In contrast', and 'Notably' are used effectively to guide the reader through the data comparisons. Referencing is generally clear, though there are minor mechanical cohesion issues such as missing prepositions or punctuation errors in listing values (e.g., 'at, 43%' and '29% sodium'). Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, maintaining a coherent overall arrangement that meets the criteria for Band 7.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary to allow for flexibility and precision, utilizing terms such as 'proportion', 'contribution', 'intake', and 'account for'. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, but some word choice and collocation errors are present, such as 'consumes too much' instead of 'consumed in excess', 'launch' instead of 'lunch', and 'breakfast share the smallest proportion' instead of 'share'. Spelling and word formation slips occur ('siantly' instead of 'slightly'), but these do not impede communication, placing the response solidly at Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating control over relative clauses and comparative structures. However, there are several grammatical errors and punctuation slips throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('snack made up', 'Breakfast consistently represent'), missing prepositions ('proportion 14% sodium'), and awkward comma placement ('at, 43%'). Although these errors are frequent enough to prevent a higher band, they do not impede overall communication, making Band 6 an accurate reflection of the writer's grammatical control.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.