Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

Too much of anything has adverse effect on health. Similarly, having sodium, saturated fat and added sugar has adverse effect on the health. A survery conducted in USA to analyse the consumption of sodium, saturated fat and added sugar in typical meals. The pie chart reveals that sodium and saturated fats is most consumed in dinner meals, 43% and 37% consequently. While, snacks happen to have the most added sugar. Another interesting fact is that the first meal of the day have the least quantity of sodium, saturated fat and added sugar as compared to other meals. It is pertinent to mention that the consumption of sodium in snack and breakfast is similar at 16%. The results show that out of all the 4 meals the most moderate meal happens to be the breakfast while the most unhealthy in terms of consumption happens to be dinner and main sugar increase seems to be deriving from snacks with 42% consumption.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the three nutrients across the meals in the USA. The student successfully identifies key highlights, such as dinner having the highest percentages of sodium (43%) and saturated fat (37%), while snacks contain the most added sugar (42%). However, there is a minor factual inaccuracy in the text: the student states that 'the consumption of sodium in snack and breakfast is similar at 16%', whereas the visual data shows breakfast sodium at 14% and snacks at 14%, while saturated fat in snacks is 21% and breakfast is 16% (and added sugar has breakfast at 16% and snacks at 42%). This minor data misreading prevents a higher score, but the overall summary and comparisons are generally adequate and relevant.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response exhibits a coherent overall arrangement and progresses logically from an introduction to general trends and specific meal comparisons. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'While', 'Another interesting fact', and 'It is pertinent to mention'. However, the text is presented as a single solid paragraph rather than being divided into appropriate paragraphs, which detracts from the structure. Referencing is mostly clear, though some transitions feel slightly mechanical.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'adverse effect', 'consumption', 'survery' (spelling error for survey), and 'moderate'. There are a few word choice and collocation inaccuracies, notably the misuse of the word 'consequently' instead of 'respectively' when listing percentages, and the typo 'survery'. Despite these errors, communication is not impeded, and the range is sufficient to convey the intended message.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'The pie chart reveals that sodium and saturated fats is most consumed...' and 'Another interesting fact is that the first meal of the day have the least quantity...'. There are several grammatical errors regarding subject-verb agreement, including 'saturated fats is' instead of 'are', and 'meal of the day have' instead of 'has'. Additionally, there is a missing article in 'A survery conducted in USA'. These errors occur regularly but rarely impede overall communication.

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