Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-13

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 given three pie charts illustrate the medium percentages in meals of three kinds of nutrients ( sodium, saturated fats and added sugars ) in the USA that may cause harm if take too much.

Overall, Dinner has most sodium and saturated fats while snacks has too much sugar and breakfast has the least three nutrients in the given pie charts.

Firstly, Dinner has 43% sodium while 37% saturated fats and 23% added sugar. In addtition, snacks and breakfast has the same amount of sodium each about 14% but snacks has 21% and breakfast has 16% of saturated fats . Furthermore, breakfast has 16% or snacks have 42% of added sugar. However, the amount of sodium in lunch is 29%, and lunch has 26% of saturated fat as well as lunch has 19% of added sugar. Hence, sodium is dominated in dinner which is 43% and dinner also has too much amount of saturated fats which is 37%, In addition to sancks have huge amount of added sugar which is 42%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main pattern accurately: dinner has the highest shares of sodium and saturated fat, while snacks lead in added sugar. You also report the key figures for all four meals, including lunch, so the response covers the chart’s main categories. The overview is relevant, although “breakfast has the least three nutrients” is not fully accurate: breakfast ties with snacks for the lowest sodium share, and it ties with lunch for the lowest added-sugar share. The body includes useful comparisons, but some are repeated in the final sentence rather than developed further. To strengthen the summary, make the overview more precise and organise the comparisons around the contrasting peaks and lowest values.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview and a body paragraph, and the figures are generally presented in a sensible meal-by-meal sequence. However, progression is limited because the body moves between dinner, snacks, breakfast and lunch, then repeats the dinner and snack peaks in the closing sentence. Connectors such as “Furthermore,” “However,” and “Hence” are used, but some do not clearly express the relationship between the information; “However” introduces another data point rather than a contrast. Grouping the meal comparisons more consistently and removing repeated claims would make the organisation clearer. Use fewer, more precise linking expressions and ensure each sentence advances the comparison.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “percentages,” “nutrients,” “amount,” and “illustrate,” and the reader can understand the general comparisons. However, the range is limited and several choices are unnatural or imprecise: “medium percentages” does not describe the data, “too much sugar” sounds evaluative, and “sodium is dominated in dinner” is not an appropriate collocation. There are also spelling errors such as “addtition” and “sancks,” alongside repeated use of “has” and “amount.” Choose neutral reporting language and vary verbs and nouns—for example, describe a meal as “accounting for” a share or having the “highest proportion.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentences, and the main figures are usually understandable. However, control is inconsistent, particularly with subject–verb agreement, articles and sentence construction. Examples include “snacks and breakfast has,” where the plural subject needs a plural verb, and “if take too much,” which lacks a clear subject and auxiliary. The phrase “breakfast has 16% or snacks have 42%” also creates an unclear grammatical relationship between the figures. Punctuation and spacing are uneven, and the final sentence joins several ideas with a comma. Practise accurate comparison structures such as “Dinner accounts for 43% of sodium, compared with 29% at lunch,” and check agreement and sentence boundaries.

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