Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-16
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 illustrates the percentage of different type of nutrients present in a meal, which are unhealthy if they are taken in too much amount. The given nutrients are Sodium Saturated fat and sugar.
Overall, it is clear that sodium have high percentage in dinner and lunch in USA while having low percentage in breakfast. Whereas, sugar recorded the lowest percentage among all the nutrients in luch and dinner time but showed the highest figure in snacking time.Moreover, use of fat is intermediate between sugar and sodium.
Sodium represented the highest percentage consumed in lunch and dinner at 29% and 43%respectively. while sodium consumption was least in snack time about 14% and in breakfast the intake of sodium was less than other two nutrients at 14%.
The intake of sugar and saturated fat in USA showed same percentage at 16% in breakfast.In contrast, fat represented the higher percentage than the suagar in lunch at 26%, dinner 37% and snack time at 21%. while sugar consumtiopn had the highest percentage in snack time about 42% making it dominat nutrients in snack time while showed the lowest in lunch time approximately 19% which were least consume in lunch time
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The student successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the three charts showing sodium, saturated fat, and added sugar percentages in the USA. An overall trend is provided, and relevant comparisons are made between the meals and nutrients. Key data points are correctly identified, such as dinner being the highest for sodium (43%) and snacks being the highest for added sugar (42%). However, there are minor inaccuracies in data reporting, such as stating that sugar consumption in lunch and dinner was the lowest overall when some categories overlap, and some phrasing is slightly repetitive. Nevertheless, the response clearly addresses the prompt and presents a well-supported overview. Band 6.5 is awarded here.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is arranged logically with an introduction, an overview paragraph, and body paragraphs detailing the specific data points. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'Whereas', and 'In contrast' are used to connect ideas and make comparisons. Paragraphing is adequate, separating the introduction/overview from the detailed body sections. However, referencing and transitions are at times slightly mechanical ('Sodium represented... saturated fat... showed same percentage...'). Progression is generally clear throughout the text, allowing the reader to follow the main trends without significant difficulty. Band 6.0 is awarded.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for an Academic Task 1 response, using terms like 'percentage', 'consumption', 'intermediate', and 'dominant'. There are, however, several spelling and word choice errors, such as 'luch' instead of 'lunch', 'suagar', 'consumtiopn', and 'dominat'. Collocations and word forms are sometimes awkward, such as 'taken in too much amount' instead of 'consumed in excessive amounts'. While less common vocabulary is attempted, the frequent spelling and mechanical slips restrict the score to Band 6.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating comparative clauses and prepositional phrases (e.g., 'while sodium consumption was least in snack time about 14%'). There are numerous grammatical errors throughout, including missing prepositions, incorrect verb forms ('sodium have high percentage'), punctuation errors with missing spaces before conjunctions, and awkward phrasing ('which were least consume in lunch time'). These errors occasionally create minor friction for the reader, though they do not impede overall communication. Band 5.5 is appropriate here.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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