Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-27

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 pie charts gives the information of the mean proportions of three kinds of nutrients, namely sodium, saturated fat and added sugar, that are found in usual meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack) in the USA. It can be dangerous for health if these nutrients are more consumed.

Overall, dinner contains the most proportion of all these three nutrients. Snack contains the most added sugar. Lunch and Breakfast contain moderate amount of all these nutrients.

Sodium has the highest proportion in dinner around 43%, while snack and breakfast has least amount of sodium, having 14% each. Similarly, Saturated fat is also the highest contributor nutrient in dinner, having proportion of 37%. Lunch contains 26% fat, snack contains 21% and breakfast has the least amount of fat, only 16%, among the other meals.

Added sugar, however is abundantly found in snack, contributing the proportion of 42% among the meals consumed in the USA. Dinner has 23% added sugar, lunch contains 19% of added sugar and breakfast, again, has the least contribution of added sugar of around 16%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the chart’s subject and report the main patterns accurately: dinner has the highest shares of sodium and saturated fat, while snacks account for the most added sugar. The figures you give, including 43%, 37% and 42%, match the data, and the overview helps the reader see the key contrasts. This meets the task well, with some features reported more fully than others. For example, you give detailed figures for each meal, but the overview’s claim that lunch and breakfast contain “moderate” amounts is broad and does not distinguish their different positions. To strengthen the response further, make the overview more precise by contrasting dinner’s dominance for two nutrients with snacks’ dominance for sugar, and describe the lower meal shares without vague labels.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and separate discussion of sodium and saturated fat followed by added sugar. This makes the information easy to follow, and linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Similarly” and “however” help signal relationships. The progression is coherent, though some connections are mechanical or not fully precise. For instance, “Similarly” introduces saturated fat after sodium, but the comparison could more clearly state that dinner leads in both categories. The overview also groups lunch and breakfast together as moderate, then the details separate them. For a more controlled progression, organise the body around the main comparisons—dinner’s high sodium and fat shares, then the snack-led sugar pattern—and use references that clearly identify the meal or nutrient being compared.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for describing proportions, including “mean proportions,” “contributor,” “abundantly” and “contributing.” The reader can understand the comparisons, and the nutrient names are handled consistently. However, some choices are inaccurate or unnatural for chart description: “the most proportion,” “highest contributor nutrient” and “more consumed” do not express the intended meaning idiomatically. “Contains” is also repeated frequently, limiting flexibility. Aim for precise collocations such as “accounts for the largest share” and “the proportion is highest,” and vary reporting verbs where appropriate. These improvements would make the description more natural and exact while retaining the clear, task-focused vocabulary already present.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple statements and longer comparative sentences, and the meaning remains clear throughout. Some structures are handled effectively, such as “while snack and breakfast…” and the contrast introduced by “however.” There are nevertheless some errors in agreement, articles and sentence construction. For example, “The pie charts gives” should be “The pie charts give,” and “snack and breakfast has” should be “snack and breakfast have.” In “Lunch and Breakfast contain moderate amount,” the noun needs an article or plural form. The sentence “It can be dangerous for health if these nutrients are more consumed” is also awkwardly formed. Review subject–verb agreement and article use, and practise expressing comparisons with accurate, varied clause structures.

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