Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The given three pie charts illustrate the average proportion of sodium, saturated fat and added sugar, typically in breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner, that is consumed in the USA. Knowing the fact that overconsumption can lead to several health issues. Overall, dinner accounts for the largest share of sodium and saturated fat, whereas snack represents the higher consumption of added sugars.

Looking first at sodium, that contributes the highest proportion of 43% in dinner, followed by lunch that accounts for 29%. However, similar equal proportion is estimated for snack and breakfast that is 14% of both.

Coming to the saturated fat, dinner has the largest proportion at 37%. Lunch and snack are quite represented similar as 26% and 21% respectively.

Turning to the remaining category, added sugar has considerably consumed in snacks, that is slightly higher than the half percentage, at 42%. Lunch accounted for 19% of share, meanwhile breakfast represents the smallest portion of 16% for added sugar.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The student successfully covers all three categories (sodium, saturated fat, and added sugar) across the four meal times. The key features and comparisons are accurately reported, noting that dinner dominates sodium and saturated fat while snacks lead in added sugar. A clear overview is provided in the introduction. However, there is a minor sentence fragment/grammatical error in the overview ('Knowing the fact that...'), but the data selection and reporting satisfy the requirements for Band 7, as all parts of the prompt are addressed with relevant comparisons.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response is logically organized with a clear overall progression. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction and the individual nutrient categories. Cohesive devices such as 'Looking first at', 'Coming to the saturated fat', and 'Turning to the remaining category' are used effectively to guide the reader through the data. Although there is a minor mechanical phrasing issue ('similar equal proportion'), the relationships between ideas are clear and logical, supporting a Band 7 score.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally adequate and appropriate for the task, featuring terms like 'proportion', 'accounts for', 'consumption', and 'category'. There are attempts at less common phrasing ('dominates', 'considerably consumed'), but some awkward word choices and collocations occur, such as 'similar equal proportion is estimated' and 'Lunch and snack are quite represented similar'. Spelling is accurate, and communication is never impeded, placing the writing securely at Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms with relative clauses and introductory phrases. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There is a sentence fragment ('Knowing the fact that overconsumption can lead to several health issues.'), a relative clause error ('sodium, that contributes...'), and awkward passive constructions ('added sugar has considerably consumed'). Despite these frequent errors, they rarely impede communication, aligning well with the Band 6 descriptor.

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

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