Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-29
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 proportion of sodium , saturated fat and sugar added in daily meals which can cause serious health issues if consume excesivly.
Overall, Dinner contains the largest portion of sodium in all three meals while the breakfast cover the smallest share of the meal although snacks experienced a dramatic increase of added sugar
all three nutrients have a largest contribuation in dinner except snacks. dinner takes a huge chunk of sodium at 43% which is more than double of the snacks at 14%. saturated fat also have a slightly lower part then sodium at 37% but it almost double than the quantity present in snacks at 21%. while the snacks experienced a dramatic increase of sugar in their potion at 42% which is almost double quantity of the sugar that is present in dinner around 23%.
Lunch meal have a moderate amount of sodium in it that takes 29% of portion which almost double than the quanitity of the sodium added in the breakfast around 14%. Moreover the quantity of saturated fat and sugar is remained same in the breakfast at 16% and 16% respectively. in addition lunch covers a slightly lower share of saturated fat than sodium inat 26% while the sugar is around 19% in lunch
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the three pie charts regarding sodium, saturated fat, and added sugar in US meals. An overview is attempted, noting that dinner contains the most sodium while breakfast shares the smallest share and snacks see a dramatic sugar increase. Key features and comparisons are generally accurate (e.g., dinner taking 43% of sodium compared to snacks at 14%). However, there are some slight confusions in phrasing and data relationships, such as claiming breakfast 'covers the smallest share of the meal' while also noting later that breakfast and snacks tie or that breakfast matches certain fat/sugar figures. Overall, the response adequately covers the visual data and makes relevant comparisons, aligning well with Band 6 descriptors.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay has a coherent overall arrangement and follows a logical structure with an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs discussing the nutrients. However, paragraphing is somewhat weak, and sentences within the body paragraphs are crammed together with inconsistent capitalization and punctuation (e.g., starting sentences with lowercase letters like 'all three nutrients' and 'lunch meal'). Cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'while', 'also', and 'moreover'. Referencing is mostly clear, but the progression can feel a bit disjointed due to punctuation errors and run-on phrasing, which fits the Band 5.5 to 6.0 profile.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms like 'proportion', 'contribuation' (contribution), 'quantity', and 'moderate amount'. However, there are numerous spelling errors ('excesivly', 'contribuation', 'potion', 'quanitity') and awkward word choices ('huge chunk', 'slightly lower part then sodium'). Less common vocabulary is attempted but frequently inaccurate. While communication is not impeded, the accumulation of spelling and morphological slips prevents the lexical score from reaching a higher band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing comparative structures such as 'more than double of the snacks' and 'almost double quantity of the sugar'. However, grammatical accuracy is weak. There are frequent errors with subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'Lunch meal have', 'saturated fat also have', 'sugar is remained'), missing articles, and incorrect prepositions ('in dinner', 'in their potion', 'inat 26%'). Punctuation is also poorly handled, with missing capital letters at the beginnings of sentences. These errors occasionally cause the reader difficulty, placing this criterion at Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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