Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-30

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 average amount of three kinds of nutrients in typical meals, measured in percentage, eaten in the USA.

Overall, dinner hold the highest amount of sodium and saturated fat inside, whereas breakfast hold the lowest amount of sodium and saturated fat. Furthermore, snack had the greatest amount of added sugar, while breakfast had the minimum amount of added sugar.

To begin, in the USA, a large amount of sodium and saturated fat eaten through dinner by 43% and 37% respectively. These amounts were too higher than other meals in which sodium and satured fat was below 30%. On the other hand, people consumed largest amount of added sugar by 42% which became the largest among others.

In sharp contrast to this, breakfast hold the lowest percentage of sodium, saturated fat, and added sugar inside by 14%, and 16% each and became the healthy food than snack and lunch.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the three nutrients across the four meal times. The overview clearly highlights the highest and lowest values, noting that dinner has the most sodium and saturated fat while snacks dominate in added sugar. Data points are generally reported accurately, such as 'dinner by 43% and 37%' and 'snack had the greatest amount of added sugar' at 42%. However, there is a minor omission in comparing all exact figures for lunch and snacks across the categories, and some data reporting lacks full expansion. Overall, it satisfies the requirements for a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay has a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, overview paragraph, and body paragraphs. Logical progression is established through transitional phrases such as 'To begin', 'On the other hand', and 'In sharp contrast to this'. However, cohesion is at times mechanical and referencing is slightly faulty, as seen in phrases like 'These amounts were too higher than other meals' and confusing pronoun references. Paragraphing is used adequately, but the internal flow of sentences could be smoother. This corresponds to a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'nutrients', 'percentage', 'maximum amount', and 'consumed'. However, there are notable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'dinner hold the highest amount', 'satured fat', and 'became the healthy food'. Attempts at less common vocabulary result in inaccuracies that occasionally affect precision, though they do not impede overall communication. This performance aligns comfortably with Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and comparative structures. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several frequent errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('dinner hold', 'snack had'), tense confusion ('dinner hold', 'became'), and incorrect comparative forms ('too higher than'). Punctuation is basic, and some structural awkwardness causes difficulty for the reader. These features reflect the descriptors for Band 5.0.

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

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