Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-11-02
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 information about average percentile of meals having three kinds unhealthy nutrients if eaten too much in quantity.
Overall charts define nutrients(sodium, saturated fat, added suger) which are found in different kind of meals.
Sodium has the greatest precentage in dinner and lunch respectively 43 and 29. On the other hand sodium has least percentile found in snack and breakfast. Both have same percentage of sodium which is 14%.
Saturated fat also has similar percentage to sodium. The most of the saturated fat has been found in dinner and lunch with percentage of 37 and 26 while breakfast consist of least amount of saturated fat with 16% and snacks has share of 21%.
On the contrary to sodium and saturated fat added suger follows different pattern.
Snack consist 42% of added sugar making major proportion. while dinner has lower percentage of 23% of added sugar. On the other hand breakfast and and lunch fills least proportion of the added sugar with 16 and 19 percent respectively.
Majority of the unhealthy nutrients are found in dinner and snacks and least amount is found in breakfast.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
You identify the main patterns accurately: sodium and saturated fat peak at dinner, while added sugar is highest in snacks. The figures you report are also correct, including the equal 14% sodium shares for breakfast and snacks and the 42% sugar share for snacks. This gives the response a relevant overview and supports it with comparisons. However, the overview is somewhat general: the closing claim that most nutrients are found in dinner and snacks does not clearly distinguish the different distributions, and breakfast is not consistently the lowest category across all three nutrients. Develop the overview by contrasting dinner’s dominance for sodium and saturated fat with snacks’ dominance for added sugar, and make the comparisons more precise across all meal types.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response is arranged in a clear sequence: an introduction, an overview, and separate discussion of sodium, saturated fat and added sugar. This makes the main information easy to locate. Linking phrases such as “On the other hand” and “On the contrary” show an effort to connect comparisons, but they are sometimes repetitive or do not express the relationship precisely. For example, “On the contrary to sodium and saturated fat” introduces a genuine contrast, but the following sentences could connect the figures more smoothly. The final sentence also repeats a broad point rather than synthesising the key patterns. Use fewer, more exact transitions and group related comparisons—for instance, compare dinner across the nutrients, then contrast the snack figures—to create stronger progression.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “percentage,” “proportion,” “share” and “pattern,” and the reader can generally understand the comparisons. However, several noticeable word-choice and spelling problems limit precision: “average percentile” is not the right term for these figures, “suger” is misspelled, and “greatest precentage” contains another spelling error. Phrases such as “charts define nutrients” and “meals having three kinds unhealthy nutrients” are also unnatural, while “fills least proportion” does not express the intended idea clearly. Aim for accurate, conventional collocations such as “the charts show the proportions of…” and “accounted for the smallest share.” Proofreading spelling and choosing precise chart-reporting vocabulary would make the description more fluent.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You attempt a mixture of simple statements and longer comparisons, and most of the data remains understandable. Some grammatical errors, however, recur in sentence construction and agreement. For example, “Sodium has the greatest percentage in dinner and lunch respectively 43 and 29” needs a clearer structure, such as “Sodium accounts for the highest shares at dinner and lunch, at 43% and 29%, respectively.” In “snacks has share” and “Snack consist,” the subject and verb do not agree; “breakfast consist of least amount” also needs an article and a more complete grammatical pattern. Punctuation is occasionally awkward, including the lower-case “while” after a full stop. Practise accurate subject–verb agreement, articles and sentence boundaries while retaining your comparison structures.
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