Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-10

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 give pie-charts illustrates the average usage of three nutrients - Sodium, Saturated fat and Added sugar - in the typical meals consumed in the USA. Additionally, it is mentioned that the excessive use of these nutritients may create health problems.

Overall, it is evident from the charts that sodium and saturated fat are consumed more in dinner as compared to other daily meals, including snack, lunch and breakfast. While, added sugar accounts for a large percentage in snacks.

The pie-charts of sodium and saturated fat are nearly identical with minor changes in their usages. For dinners, sodium shares a large segment of 43% and 29% for lunch. Noticeably, sodium in snack and breakfast shares an equal figure of 14%. conversely, saturated fat comprises of 37% in dinner and 26% in lunch but in snack, it is 21% and 16% in breakfast.

In snacks, added sugar is contained more as compared to the other meals. In breakfast, it is 16% and 19% in lunch. dinner includes 23% of added sugar.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You identify the main patterns accurately: dinner has the highest shares of sodium (43%) and saturated fat (37%), while snacks account for the largest proportion of added sugar (42%). The overview also makes a useful comparison between the two dinner-led nutrients and added sugar. Most figures reported are correct, and the response covers all three charts. However, the added-sugar discussion is less fully developed: the key snack figure of 42% is not stated, even though it is the most striking value, and the final paragraph lists the other meal figures without comparing them clearly. Including that figure and highlighting how snacks exceed dinner for added sugar would make the main features more fully supported.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure, moving from an introduction and overview to details about sodium and saturated fat, then added sugar. This gives the reader a logical route through the information, and phrases such as “Overall” and “In snacks” help signal the focus. The comparison of the first two nutrients is grouped effectively. However, cohesion is not always smooth: “While” begins a fragment-like contrast in the overview, and “conversely” does not express a clear opposition between the sodium and saturated-fat figures. The final paragraph also feels incomplete because it omits the central snack value and ends abruptly. Use linking expressions only where the relationship is precise, and develop the final comparison to create a more balanced progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of task-related vocabulary, including “accounts for,” “comprises,” “segment,” and “percentage,” and the meaning is generally clear. There are also attempts to vary how proportions are described. However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, such as “average usage” for proportions of nutrients in meals, “shares a large segment,” and “is contained more.” “Nutritients” is also misspelled, and “usages” is not natural in this context. These choices limit precision despite the reader being able to understand the comparisons. Prefer standard chart language such as “accounts for 43%,” “the proportion of sodium,” and “added sugar is highest in snacks,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex structures, including the overview contrast and sentences comparing several meal categories. Most of the data remains understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “The give pie-charts illustrates” has problems with the verb form and subject–verb agreement, while “While, added sugar accounts…” is an incomplete subordinate clause. In “dinner includes 23%,” the sentence structure is possible but the capitalisation and punctuation around the preceding list are not controlled. There are also inconsistent sentence openings and punctuation after full stops. Aim for complete clauses, accurate agreement, and consistent capitalisation; for example, “The pie charts illustrate…” and “By contrast, added sugar is highest in snacks.”

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