Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-11

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 bar charts compares the quantity in percentage of three types of nutrients consumed in the USA across four different mealtimes. Overall, the data suggests dinner time to be the most unhealthy mealtime as it boasts the highest consumption of these nutrients on average, while breakfast to be the least unhealthy.

People in the USA consume the most nutrients in their dinner among other meals, with both sodium and saturated fat making up the largest proportion in the bar chart having figures of 43% and 37% respectively. In terms of added sugar dinner is the second most pronounced entry in the chart with figues of around 23%. In contrast, breakfast time seems to be the most healthy mealtime, having the lowest Sodium (14%), Saturated fat (16%) and Added sugar (16%) intake.

During lunch and snacks, sodium intake is 29% for the former and 14% for the latter, thus lunch being the second most popular and snack tied with breakfast as last. Similar trend is obseverd for saturated fat, while for added sugar snack is most popular

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main pattern that dinner accounts for the largest shares of sodium and saturated fat, while breakfast is low across all three nutrients. The figures you give for these comparisons are accurate, and you also note that added sugar peaks in snacks. This covers the key features, but some comparisons are left incomplete: the final sentence stops after saying snacks are highest for sugar, without giving the figure or comparing it with dinner and the other meals. The overview also overgeneralises dinner as the most unhealthy meal, although snacks have the highest added-sugar share. To strengthen the response, report the snack figure of 42% and make the overview distinguish the patterns across nutrients more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction and overview are followed by details about dinner and breakfast, then lunch and snacks. Linking phrases such as “Overall,” “In contrast,” and “During lunch and snacks” help signal the comparisons. However, the final paragraph is incomplete, so the discussion of lunch and snacks does not reach a clear conclusion. Some sequencing is also awkward: the second paragraph moves from dinner to breakfast, while the last paragraph returns to lunch and snacks without fully developing that comparison. Grouping the figures by nutrient, or comparing all four meals within each nutrient, would create clearer progression. The organisation is coherent overall, but cohesion and paragraph development are not consistently controlled.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for describing chart data, including “consumption,” “proportion,” “intake,” and “in contrast.” There are also attempts at more varied phrasing, such as “most pronounced entry,” though this is not a natural collocation for a chart category. Several choices are imprecise or awkward: “quantity in percentage” would be clearer as “percentage of,” and “most popular” does not accurately describe nutrient intake. Spelling slips such as “figues” and “obseverd” are noticeable, although the intended meaning remains clear. Aim for precise, conventional chart language and check spelling; for example, use “highest share” or “largest proportion” rather than “most popular.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, and most of the information remains understandable. However, some grammatical errors recur. The opening should be “The bar charts compare,” because the plural subject requires a plural verb. In the overview, “while breakfast to be” is missing a finite verb; write “while breakfast is the least…” The phrase “People in the USA consume the most nutrients in their dinner among other meals” has an awkward comparison structure, and the final sentence is a fragment because it ends without completing the thought. There are also punctuation and spacing issues, including extra spaces around commas. Review subject–verb agreement and ensure each sentence has a complete clause, especially when using contrastive structures.

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