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 provided chart illustrates the proportions of three types of nutrients- Sodium, Saturated fat and Sugar in typical meals consumed in USA . All these nutrient may be unhealthy if eaten too much.

Overall, mostly these nutrients used in dinners and very less used in breakfast. Sodium in dinner has the highest percentage and in snack has the lowest.

To began with, Sodium mainly consumed in dinner accounting for 43%, secondly most used in lunch for 29%, while in snack and breakfast has 14% in both each. Conversely, the saturated fat also most utilize in dinner 37%, 26 in lunch which is lower than sodium. However, it account for 21% in snack and 16% in breakfast.

The remaining nutrient sugar has high percentage in snack 42%, in dinner they has 23% which lower than the other two nutrients in dinner. For lunch it added only 19% and in breakfast its inculd 16%, this figures brekfast similar to figure Staurated fat.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response successfully addresses the main features of the visual data, providing a clear overview and highlighting key comparisons between meals and nutrients. The student correctly notes that sodium and saturated fat are predominantly consumed during dinner (43% and 37% respectively), while added sugar peaks in snacks at 42%. Although the word count is just above the minimum requirement, the data is accurately reported without significant factual errors. However, to achieve a higher band, the analysis could have integrated more precise cross-nutrient comparisons within the same meal categories, rather than relying on a somewhat repetitive listing format. Nevertheless, all parts of the prompt are addressed satisfactorily, making this a solid performance for the task.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The text demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with clear attempts at paragraphing and structuring the response. Introductory, overview, and body paragraphs are distinguishable. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'To begin with', and 'Conversely' are employed to guide the reader through the data. However, referencing and transitions are sometimes faulty or mechanical, as seen in awkward phrasing like 'To began with' and 'The remaining nutrient sugar has high percentage in snack 42%, in dinner they has 23%'. Paragraphing is also somewhat fragmented, with body ideas spilling across slightly disjointed sentences. Overall progression is present, but cohesion lacks the flexibility and smoothness required for a higher band.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating topic-specific terms such as 'proportions', 'nutrients', 'sodium', 'saturated fat', and 'percentage'. There are several attempts to use less common vocabulary, but these are often marred by word choice and morphological errors, such as 'most utilize' instead of 'mostly utilized', and spelling mistakes like 'inculd' and 'brekfast'. Collocations are occasionally unnatural, for example, 'very less used in breakfast'. While these lexical inadequacies and errors do not entirely impede communication, they restrict the lexical score to the mid-band level due to a lack of precision and control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writing displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though complex structures are frequently faulty. Examples of grammatical errors include subject-verb agreement issues ('All these nutrient may', 'in snack and breakfast has 14%', 'dinner they has'), missing prepositions, and tense inconsistencies. Punctuation is generally basic, and sentence boundaries are occasionally blurred by comma splices or missing connectors. While the writer manages to convey the core meaning, the high frequency of grammatical and mechanical errors means that only a minority of sentences are entirely error-free, anchoring the grammar score firmly at band 5.0.

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

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