Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-24

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)

These three pie charts illustrate the average proportion of the three different types of nutrients present in meals taken by USA citizens ,considered as unhealthy if consumed in large quantity.

It is clear that dinner shares the largest proportion for sodium and saturated food,whereas snack account for smallest share for both.However for Sugar snack become signifigant figure.

For sodium dinner made up the biggest share of typical meal at 43%,which was more than twice of lunch at 14%.Lunch stood up as the 2nd largest part of meal.in addition to snack and breakfast showed the same proportion at 14%.

For Saturated food and Sugar,dinner declined marginaly to 6 points, and 22 points ,respectively,while snack grew up at 21% and 42% ,respectively. Roughly 7 points decline is prominent in lunch,whereas dinner made up the causual drop in both nutrients.breakfast shared the same percentages in both figures and remains constant at 16%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the main contrast that dinner accounts for the largest shares of sodium and saturated fat, while snacks dominate added sugar. However, several figures and comparisons are inaccurate, which limits how fully the charts are reported. Sodium at lunch is 29%, not 14%; 14% applies to breakfast and snacks, so the claim that lunch is the second-largest share is correct but its supporting figure is not. Dinner’s saturated-fat share is 37%, and added sugar is 23%, rather than the stated declines of 6 and 22 points. The overview also incorrectly calls snacks the smallest share for both sodium and saturated fat. The response is one word below the required minimum. Check each figure against the chart and include a clearer, accurate overview.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic, useful structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs describing the figures. This gives the reader a general route through the information. However, progression is weakened by unclear comparisons and links between data. For example, “For Saturated food and Sugar” combines two charts without clearly distinguishing their values, and “Roughly 7 points decline is prominent in lunch” does not specify which nutrient or comparison is meant. The connectors “However,” “in addition to,” and “whereas” are attempted, but some are awkward or do not express the relationship precisely. Use one paragraph for the overview and organise the details by meal or nutrient, with each comparison explicitly identified.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant chart vocabulary, including “proportion,” “largest share,” “declined,” and “remains constant,” so the topic is generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, sometimes making the intended comparison difficult to follow. “Saturated food” should be “saturated fat,” “snack account” is not an appropriate collocation, and “dinner made up the casual drop” does not convey a clear meaning. There are also spelling errors such as “signifigant” and “marginaly.” Aim for precise, consistent terms for the nutrients and use straightforward comparison language rather than uncertain phrases. Proofreading spelling and collocation would make the data description clearer.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast with “whereas” and a sentence beginning “For sodium dinner made up…”. Meaning is often recoverable, but errors in sentence construction and punctuation occur throughout. For example, “snack account for smallest share” has a subject–verb agreement error and missing article, while “which was more than twice of lunch at 14%” has an incomplete comparison structure. The sentence “For Saturated food and Sugar, dinner declined…” also makes the subject unclear: the meal’s share, rather than dinner itself, changes. Commas are frequently missing or misplaced, and spacing around punctuation is inconsistent. Build comparisons with clear subjects and check agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.