Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-30

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 illustrate average percentages of three different nutrients in a normal meal which can be unhealthy if eaten in excess. Each pie chart is divided into breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.

Overall, dinner contains the highest percentage of sodium and saturated fat across all the meals, while snacks contain the most added sugar. Breakfast contributes the lowest towards added sugar and saturated fat and it ties with snack in sodium.

43% of sodium consumed across four meals comes from dinner, followed by lunch 29%. Both lunch and breakfast each contribute 14% of sodium. Dinner contains 37% of all the saturated consumed during an entire day, lunch contributes 26% while snacks make up 21% of total saturated fat and rest of 16% saturated fat comes from breakfast.

Regarding added sugar, Snacks contain 42% of the added sugar consumed all day, followed by dinner at 23%. Luch and breakfast both contribute 19% and 16% percent each.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You identify the main pattern accurately: dinner has the largest shares of sodium and saturated fat, while snacks lead for added sugar. The overview also notes breakfast’s low contributions, and the body reports the key figures for all three nutrients, giving a clear account of the chart. Most comparisons are supported by accurate data, including dinner’s 43% sodium and 37% saturated fat, and snacks’ 42% added sugar. One factual slip occurs in the sodium section: breakfast and snacks each account for 14%, but the response says lunch and breakfast do. The final comparison could also be more precise by stating that breakfast and lunch are the lowest for added sugar, rather than simply listing their figures. Overall, the task is addressed clearly, with a little room for tighter precision.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response is organised in a clear sequence: an introduction, an overview, and separate body sections for sodium, saturated fat and added sugar. This makes the main comparisons easy to follow, and linking expressions such as “Overall,” “followed by” and “Regarding added sugar” guide the reader through the information. The progression is logical, although the second body paragraph combines sodium and saturated fat in a way that makes the shift between nutrients slightly abrupt. Some repeated use of “contribute” and “contains” also makes the linking feel less flexible. You could improve the flow by grouping the two nutrients with similar meal patterns, then contrasting them with added sugar, while using clearer references such as “this figure” or “by comparison” where appropriate.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use an adequate range of chart-reporting vocabulary, including “illustrate,” “contribute,” “followed by” and “across all the meals.” These choices communicate the comparisons clearly, and phrases such as “highest percentage” and “the most added sugar” are appropriate for describing proportions. However, some wording is imprecise or awkward: “a normal meal” does not accurately describe the chart’s distribution across typical meals, and “all the saturated” is incomplete as a phrase. “Luch” is also a spelling error, while “snacks” and “Snack” are inconsistently capitalised. The response shows some flexibility, but more precise collocations and careful proofreading would make the vocabulary more natural and controlled.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more developed sentence forms, and several sentences are grammatically clear, such as “Overall, dinner contains the highest percentage of sodium and saturated fat across all the meals.” The overview and most comparisons are easy to understand. Some errors remain, however. In “Both lunch and breakfast each contribute 14%,” the wording is redundant and the sentence also misstates the chart data; the grammatical issue is the unnecessary combination of “both” and “each.” “Dinner contains 37% of all the saturated consumed” is missing a noun after “saturated,” and “the rest of 16% saturated fat” has an incomplete construction. The final sentence’s “19% and 16% percent each” is also awkwardly formed. Check sentence patterns and noun phrases to improve accuracy.

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