Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-19

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 charts illustrate the average ratios of sodium, saturated fat and added sugars in typical meals of three different types of nutrients, out of that which one is unhealthy if eaten too much in USA.

Overall, Sodium consists more in dinner and less in snacks and breakfast. Saturated fact and added sugars contains mostly in dinner and snacks and least amount in breakfast.

To begin with, Sodium contains 43% in dinner nearly half of the total part. Lunch with 29% and snacks and breakfast are both contained expressed same portion with 14%. Turn to saturated fat, dinner and lunch was decreased by 6 and 7 percentages and reached to 37% and 21%. while, breakfast and lunch are increased 2 and 3 percentages and finally reached to 16 and 26 percentages.

Finally, added sugars are same quantity like saturated fat in breakfast. Snacks are with 42% around half of the total which is nearly equal to sodium used percentage in dinner, for lunch added sugar was used nearly one-fifth of total and in dinner around one-fourth of total.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main pattern that sodium is highest at dinner and that added sugar peaks in snacks, and you include many relevant figures. The comparisons between meals also show an attempt to summarise the charts rather than list every value. However, the overview is partly unclear: saying saturated fat and added sugars are mostly in “dinner and snacks” overlooks that saturated fat is highest at dinner, while added sugar is highest at snacks. Some details are also misreported. For saturated fat, dinner is 37% and lunch is 26%, but the response gives 21% for lunch; 21% is the snack figure. The discussion of added sugar gives approximate fractions rather than its exact meal values. More precise, consistently accurate reporting would make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs, with “To begin with” and “Finally” helping signal progression. The reader can generally follow the movement from sodium to saturated fat and then added sugar. However, some links are mechanical or confusing. “Turn to saturated fat” is followed by changes described as increases and decreases without a clear reference point, and “while” begins a sentence fragment after a full stop. The overview also combines two different patterns in a way that blurs the comparison. Organise the body around clear meal-by-meal or nutrient-by-nutrient comparisons, and use linking phrases that make the relationship between figures explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “average ratios,” “portion,” “total,” and “nearly half,” and you attempt to describe comparisons rather than repeat labels alone. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward enough to make some statements difficult to interpret. “Saturated fact” appears to be a mistaken form, while “contains 43% in dinner” and “was used percentage” do not express the data naturally. “Decreased” and “increased” also suggest changes over time, although the charts compare meal categories. Use precise reporting verbs and standard collocations for proportions. For example, say that a nutrient “accounts for” a percentage of intake and that its share “is highest” in a particular meal.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentences, and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, there are recurring problems with agreement, sentence construction, and punctuation. In “Saturated fact and added sugars contains,” the plural subject requires a plural verb; “dinner and lunch was decreased” also has faulty agreement and an unclear passive construction. The sentence beginning “while” after a full stop is incomplete, and the opening sentence has an awkward clause structure that makes the relationship between nutrients and meals unclear. Articles and prepositions are also inconsistent, as in “in USA” and “in dinner.” Practise building accurate comparison sentences, such as “Dinner accounts for 43% of sodium intake, compared with 29% at lunch.”

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