Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-06

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 below indicate the average percentage of sodium, saturated fat and sugar in meals that individuals would generally consume. These nutrients are recognised as being unhealthy when excessive amounts of these nutrients are consumed.

During breakfats a failry similar amount of the three nutrients is consumed and low percentages. It is to be noted that when consuming snacks, snacks that are high in sugar with a percentage of 42% is recorded. Snacks which are high in added sugar can cause an individual to experience bouts of energy but it will quickly ware off. Lunch contained similar percentages of nutrients but more than what was recorded at breakfast times. Individuals are consuming large amounts of sodium at dinner with a staggering amount of 43% being recorded.

It is clear that individuals require guidance when planning meals, in order to receive the correct amounts of nutrition or the USA should put a plan into action to minimise these nutrients which can cause harm to individuals.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response addresses the task only partially. While you manage to mention most of the charts, your selection of data is incomplete and contains inaccuracies. For instance, you state that breakfast has a 'failry similar amount' of the three nutrients at low percentages, but you do not provide specific data values for them. Furthermore, you introduce irrelevant personal commentary and speculation not found in the source material, such as claiming that snacks high in sugar 'can cause an individual to experience bouts of energy but it will quickly ware off,' and suggesting that the USA should put a plan into action. To reach a higher band, you need to present a clearer overview of the main trends without drifting into outside knowledge or subjective recommendations, and report the key figures accurately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some basic organisation in the response, but it lacks a clear overall progression. Although you use paragraph breaks to separate the introduction, body, and conclusion, the logical flow between sentences is weak. Cohesive devices are either missing, inadequate, or repetitive, making the progression feel disjointed. For example, moving abruptly from breakfast nutrients to a detailed discussion of snacks and then back to lunch without smooth transitional phrases disrupts the narrative. To improve, ensure that your ideas follow a logical sequence and that you use cohesive devices more naturally to guide the reader through your comparisons.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is limited and minimally adequate for the task. You attempt some less common items such as 'staggering amount', but this is offset by noticeable spelling and word choice errors, such as 'breakfats', 'failry', and 'ware off' instead of 'wear off'. These errors can cause some difficulty for the reader and reflect a lack of precision. To achieve a higher band, you should broaden your range of lexical items related to data reporting (such as verbs and adverbs of degree) and check your spelling and word forms carefully before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You demonstrate a limited range of structures, relying mostly on simple sentences, and your attempts at complex structures are often faulty. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues and awkward phrasing, such as 'when excessive amounts of these nutrients are consumed' clashing with earlier pronoun references, and preposition errors like 'at breakfast times'. These frequent errors can cause difficulty for the reader. To lift your score in this criterion, work on mastering basic sentence construction and increasing the variety and accuracy of your complex sentence forms.

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

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