Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-05
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 6.5)
The pie charts illustrates the average proportion in typical meals of three different types of nutrients, that may be unhealthy if eaten too much.
Overall, dinner accounted for the largest proportion of sodium and saturated fat consumption, while snack contributed the highest percentage of added sugar. In addition, breakfast has the lowest contribution in all three nutrients.
Looking first two pie charts, that have almost similar consumption pattern in sodium and saturated fat. Begining with sodium, the highest percentage was represented for dinner 43%, followed by lunch 29%, while, breakfast and snack accounted for the same proportion, 14% each. Now turn to saturated fat, dinner again constituted the largest share, at 37%, lunch making up 26%, the second–largest share of saturated fat, afterwards, breakfast and snack account for 16% and 21% repectively.
Turning to the added sugar, snack represented the highest figure, at 42%, while, dinner accounted the second–highest percentage, at 23%, lunch constitute 19%, and breakfast contribute the smallest share, at 16% of the total distribution.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5
The response satisfies the requirements for Task Achievement comfortably, presenting a clear overview and highlighting key features such as the dominance of dinner in sodium and saturated fat alongside the peak of added sugar in snacks. All parts of the prompt are addressed with relevant comparisons, including noting that breakfast consistently records the lowest proportions across all three nutrients. While the reporting is mostly accurate, a slight over-generalisation occurs when stating that breakfast and snack accounted for the exact same proportion of sodium at 14% without further nuance, yet the overall selection of data is well-judged and successfully covers the main trends required by the task.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5
The essay displays a clear overall arrangement and logical progression, moving systematically from an overview to detailed descriptions of the individual charts. Paragraphing is used adequately to separate distinct ideas, such as grouping sodium and saturated fats together before transitioning to added sugar. However, cohesion relies on somewhat mechanical transitions and referencing patterns, such as repetitive introductory phrases like 'Looking first two pie charts' and 'Now turn to saturated fat'. Cohesive devices are sometimes faulty or used awkwardly, which prevents the writing from flowing with the more flexible progression expected at higher bands.
Lexical Resource: Band 6.0
An adequate vocabulary range is employed to describe statistical data, utilising terms like 'proportion', 'consumption', 'distribution', and comparative structures like 'second-largest share'. The student attempts less common lexical items, but occasional inaccuracies in word choice and phrasing emerge, such as writing 'snack contributed' instead of 'snacks contributed' or 'breakfast has the lowest contribution'. Furthermore, typographical and spelling errors such as 'Begining' and 'repectively' appear, though these do not impede communication and remain characteristic of a functional, mid-level lexical command.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and subordinate structures. However, grammatical control is uneven, resulting in persistent errors including subject-verb agreement issues ('The pie charts illustrates'), missing prepositions ('Looking first two pie charts'), and awkward clause integration ('while, dinner accounted the second-highest percentage'). Punctuation errors, such as intrusive commas separating subjects from verbs or clauses awkwardly ('while, breakfast and snack accounted'), also occur frequently. These errors reflect a structure that frequently struggles with complex syntactical accuracy.
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.