Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-23
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 chart below illustrate the proportion of nutrient including; sodium, saturated fat and added sugar in breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.
Overall, dinner contain most of the sodium and saturated fat, while snacks and breakfast contain the least amount of sodium. Regarding the dinner, it contains most of the sodium contain with approximately 43%. Moreover, dinner has the highest saturated fat containing exactly 37%.
Turning to added sugar snacks contain the highest sugar with approximately 42%, followed by dinner and lunch. However, breakfast contain the least amount of sugar with only 16% sugar contain. Nevertheless, snacks and breakfast contain the minimum percentage of sodium with just 14 % sodium contain, followed by lunch containing exactly 29% sodium contain. Regarding the saturated fat it was contained least in breakfast with only 16% saturated fat contain, followed by snacks and lunch.
In conclusion, there is excessive sodium and saturated fat contain in dinner, while breakfast has the minimum contain of both the nutrient.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| 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 typical meals. An appropriate overview is provided in the second paragraph, capturing the key extremes such as dinner containing the highest sodium and saturated fat, and snacks leading in added sugar. Key comparisons are made across categories. However, there is some repetition in the presentation of data, particularly when revisiting sodium and saturated fat figures across paragraphs, which prevents the response from reaching a higher band. Overall, the information is accurate and reflects the provided visual data well.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The text is arranged logically with an introduction, an overview, body paragraphs addressing specific nutrients, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used sufficiently. However, the progression within and between sentences feels somewhat mechanical due to repetitive phrasing and awkward transitions (e.g., 'Regarding the dinner', 'Turning to added sugar', 'Nevertheless'). Referencing is occasionally unclear, and cohesive devices are overused in a formulaic manner. Despite these shortcomings, the response maintains a coherent overall arrangement and the reader can easily follow the comparison of data.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, with appropriate topic-specific terms such as 'proportion', 'nutrient', 'sodium', 'saturated fat', and 'added sugar'. However, there is a persistent issue with word formation and collocation, notably the repetitive misuse of the noun 'contain' where the verb 'contain' or noun 'content' is required (e.g., 'sodium contain', 'sugar contain'). This demonstrates a limited control of word forms. While less common vocabulary is attempted, these noticeable lexical errors prevent the score from rising into the higher bands.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as using subordinate clauses ('while snacks and breakfast contain...'). However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several noticeable errors, particularly missing articles ('The pie chart below illustrate' instead of 'illustrates'), subject-verb agreement issues ('dinner contain' instead of 'contains', 'breakfast contain'), and punctuation errors like a stray semicolon in the first sentence ('nutrient including; sodium'). While these errors do not impede overall communication, their frequency keeps the response at a band 5.5 level.
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.