Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-29

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 combined pie charts illustrate the average proportions of three types nutrients, in typical meals, namely snack, breakfast, lunch and dinner, which consumed by USA residents.

Overall, it is clear that the propotion sodium mostly added in dinner meal, whereas snack and breakfast depicted the similar percentages. Meanwhile, the largest amount of sugar added in snack , in contrast saturated fat recorded the least figure in breakfast .

In terms of sodium, where greatest figure was in dinner , making up at 43% . Similarly lunch meal contatins the second larget proportions , comprising 23% , in contrast snack and breakfast shared the siimilr percentages , at 14% .

Turning back to saturated fat , where dinner still dominated other typical meal by containing 37% of its total figure. Moreover, snack and breakfast contains 21% and 16% respectively. According to sugar add, snack dominated other typical meal , by holding 42% of its total share, in contrat dinner contains only

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several important patterns: dinner has the highest sodium and saturated-fat shares, while snacks account for the most added sugar. However, the report is only partially complete and includes a key factual error: lunch contributes 29% of sodium, not 23%. The overview also says breakfast and snacks have similar sodium percentages, which is accurate, but it does not clearly summarise the broader contrast between dinner’s prominence for sodium and saturated fat and snacks’ prominence for sugar. The final sentence stops after “dinner contains only,” leaving the added-sugar comparison unfinished; the 16% breakfast and 19% lunch figures are also omitted. Report the main comparisons accurately and complete each nutrient’s account.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some organisation: an introduction is followed by an overview and then paragraphs discussing sodium, saturated fat and sugar. This gives the reader a basic route through the information. However, progression is weakened by awkward transitions such as “Turning back to saturated fat” and “According to sugar add,” and the final sentence is incomplete, so the report ends abruptly. Some ideas are also packed into long sentences with unclear links, particularly the sodium comparison beginning “In terms of sodium, where greatest figure was…” Use clear topic sentences and connect each comparison directly to its data. A complete final paragraph or sentence would make the structure feel more finished and coherent.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt task-relevant vocabulary, including “proportions,” “dominated,” “comprising” and “recorded,” and you use nutrient names to distinguish the chart categories. However, inaccurate word choice, collocation and spelling are noticeable and sometimes make the meaning difficult to follow. Examples include “three types nutrients,” “propotion sodium mostly added,” “second larget proportions” and “According to sugar add.” “Total figure” and “total share” are also imprecise descriptions of percentages in meals. Aim for standard chart language and check spelling carefully; for example, describe a nutrient as “accounting for” a percentage, and refer to the “proportion” or “share” in each meal.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts some complex sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “whereas” and “in contrast,” but control is limited and errors occur frequently. The introduction has missing grammatical elements in “three types nutrients” and “which consumed by USA residents.” Other examples include “the greatest figure was in dinner,” “lunch meal contains,” and the incomplete final clause, “dinner contains only.” These problems affect sentence completeness, articles, verb forms and agreement, and can make relationships between ideas unclear. Build accurate simple sentences first, then add subordinate clauses. Check that every sentence has a clear subject and verb, and that comparisons are expressed in complete clauses.

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