Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-09

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 demostrate the average percentage of three types of nutrients, all of which considered unhealthy if eaten too much included sodium, saturated fat and sugar im typical meals consumed in the USA.

Overall,Dinner has the highest proportion consumed in the USA in three meals, while breakfast have the lowest percentage in three meals.

Regarding Sodium, dinner has the largest percentage about 43 while lunch had 29. Snacks and breakfast have the same percentage at 14. By contrast, in saturated fat have 37 in dinner and 26 in lunch and snack 21. In saturated fat , breakfast has the lowest percentade about 16.

At the end, the largest percentage in addedd sugar is snack about 42 while dinner has 23, lunch 19 and breakfast has the lowest percentage about 16.

To sum up in sodium and saturated fat have highest percentage in dinner but in addedd sugar snacks have highest percentage.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main contrasts accurately: dinner accounts for the largest shares of sodium and saturated fat, while snacks lead for added sugar. Most reported figures are correct, including sodium at 43% for dinner and 14% for breakfast and snacks, and added sugar at 42% for snacks. However, the overview says breakfast is lowest “in three meals,” which is not true for added sugar, and the saturated-fat figures are not all reported. The response also contains only 144 words, six below the required minimum; the eight words copied from the prompt are excluded. This shortfall, together with limited coverage and development of comparisons, leaves the summary only partially complete. Add a fuller overview and compare all three nutrients more explicitly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has some organisation: it begins with an introduction, gives an overview, then discusses sodium and saturated fat before added sugar. This makes the broad subject easy to follow. However, progression is weakened by repetition: the final “To sum up” repeats the overview rather than adding a useful comparison, and “At the end” is not an effective transition for introducing the last chart. The paragraphing is also limited, with several nutrient comparisons crowded together. Some linking phrases, such as “By contrast,” do not clearly signal the relationship between the figures that follow. Grouping information more consistently and using transitions such as “For sodium,” “Similarly,” and “In contrast” would make the sequence clearer and less repetitive.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “percentage,” “largest,” “lowest,” and “proportion,” and the reader can generally understand the comparisons. However, the range is limited and several noticeable spelling and word-choice errors reduce precision: “demostrate,” “imtypical,” “percentade,” and “addedd” appear in the response. Some expressions are also awkward, such as “the largest percentage in addedd sugar is snack” and “in three meals,” which make the data descriptions less natural. Use accurate nutrient names consistently—particularly “added sugar”—and choose collocations such as “accounted for 42%” or “the share of sodium was highest at dinner.” Proofreading spelling and varying reporting verbs would improve clarity and control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response communicates its main comparisons, but sentence structures are mostly simple and several grammatical errors recur. For example, “all of which considered unhealthy” is missing a verb, while “breakfast have the lowest percentage” has an agreement error. The phrase “in saturated fat have 37 in dinner” lacks a clear grammatical subject and verb, making the relationship between the nutrient and figure difficult to follow. Punctuation and spacing are also inconsistent, as in “Overall,Dinner” and the repeated spaces around words. There are few well-controlled complex structures to demonstrate range. Practise complete sentences with a clear subject and verb—for example, “Dinner accounts for 37% of saturated fat”—and check agreement, articles, and punctuation.

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

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