Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-18

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 illustrate the proportions of sodium, saturated fat and added sugar in meals utilized in the USA, if these nutrients are consumed too much it would be unhealthy.

Overall, sodium accounted for the highest percentage of nutrient present in dinner followed by breakfast and lunch contained the least amount.

It can be observed that sugar takes up 42% of the chart in snack making, while breakfast, lunch, and dinner amounted to a fairly substantial proportion of total percentage. Whereas, 37% of the saturated fat is used in dinner, snack and lunch were closely matched at 21% and 26% respectively. Although 16% of saturated fat is utilized in breakfast, it contributes to a smaller amount in contrast to others.

Subsequently, 43% of the sodium is consumed in dinner, while snack and breakfast constitute the same percent of 14% corresponding to the total and lunch made up 29% of sodium.

The graphs depict the irregular patterns of three nutrients used in typical meals in the USA, but excessive consumption may cause health problems.

Advice for Next Attempt

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student covers all three charts (sodium, saturated fat, and added sugar) and attempts to report the main features and make comparisons. However, there are some inaccuracies in the interpretation of the data. For instance, the overview states that 'lunch contained the least amount' of sodium, which is factually incorrect according to the visual data where breakfast and snacks both recorded 14%, while lunch was 29%. Furthermore, the structure of the essay groups information by nutrient rather than drawing broader cross-nutrient comparisons. The overview is somewhat repetitive and mechanically copies elements from the prompt. While the response does touch upon the main categories, the lack of precision in the overview and minor data misinterpretations prevent it from reaching a higher band. Overall, the response addresses the task adequately.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The response has a discernible overall arrangement, beginning with an introduction and ending with a summary sentence, though it mistakenly includes an extraneous heading 'Advice for Next Attempt' at the end. Paragraphing is under-utilised, as the body of the essay is clustered together rather than broken down logically by nutrient or meal type. Cohesive devices are attempted ('Overall', 'It can be observed', 'Whereas', 'Although', 'Subsequently'), but their usage is sometimes mechanically applied or leads to awkward referencing. For example, the transition 'Subsequently' does not create a logical temporal or sequential link between the saturated fat data and the sodium data. Logical progression is occasionally disrupted by confusing sentence structures and vague referencing pronouns.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common lexical items such as 'proportions', 'substantial', 'irregular patterns', and 'excessive consumption'. However, there are noticeable inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'meals utilized in the USA' (meals are consumed, not utilized) and 'snack making' (instead of 'snacks'). There are also phrasing issues such as 'contributes to a smaller amount' when referring to percentage shares. While communication is not severely impeded, these lexical slips and awkward collocations demonstrate limited precision and pull the score to the lower end of the band 6 range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating clauses introduced by 'while', 'whereas', and 'although'. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several run-on sentences and punctuation errors, such as in the opening sentence: '...in meals utilized in the USA, if these nutrients are consumed too much it would be unhealthy' (comma splice and conditional mismatch). Another error occurs with subject-verb agreement or tense consistency in phrases like 'lunch and dinner amounted to a fairly substantial proportion... Whereas, 37% of the saturated fat is used in dinner, snack and lunch were closely matched'. Frequent errors in complex structures can cause occasional difficulty for the reader.

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

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