Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-11-05

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 three pie charts demonstrate the share of sodium, saturated fat and added sugar present in typical meals - snack, breakfast, dinner, and lunch. The data shows that snack contains the highest amount of added sugar, while dinner has most sodium and saturated fat. On the other hand, breakfast has the lowest values for all three nutrients.

Snack and breakfast for have low values for both sodium and saturated fat. They range from 14% to 21%, much lower than the same values for dinner or lunch. On the other hand, snack takes up a whopping 42% of added sugar, while breakfast remains at a low value of 16%.

Alternately, as opposed to snack and breakfast, dinner and lunch occupy the highest percentage of sodium at 43% and 29% respectively. Similarly for saturated fat they are at 37% for dinner and 26% for lunch. Evidently, percentage of both dinner and lunch drop for added sugar at 23% for the former and 19% for the latter. Comparing the four meals altogether through the charts illustrates that snack is the unhealthiest with maximum added sugar and minimum sodium present.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response identifies the main patterns accurately: dinner has the largest shares of sodium and saturated fat, while snacks lead in added sugar, and breakfast is low across the nutrients. It also supports these points with relevant figures, including 43% sodium and 37% saturated fat at dinner, and 42% added sugar in snacks. This gives the report a clear overview and addresses the charts. However, the claim that breakfast has the lowest values for all three nutrients is not fully accurate: breakfast and snacks both have 14% sodium, and breakfast’s 16% added sugar is lower than the other meals. The final description of snacks as “the unhealthiest” is also an over-generalisation, since the charts show nutrient shares rather than overall healthiness. More precise comparisons would strengthen the report.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The information is arranged in a generally logical way: the opening gives an overview, followed by comparisons of breakfast and snacks, then dinner and lunch. Linking expressions such as “On the other hand,” “Similarly,” and “Comparing” help signal relationships between points. This makes the response easy to follow overall. However, some transitions are repetitive or not quite suited to the relationship being expressed; “Alternately” does not clearly introduce the contrast that follows, and “On the other hand” is used twice. The grouping of meals also shifts between paragraphs, which makes the comparisons feel somewhat mechanical. A clearer structure—overview, then nutrient-by-nutrient comparisons—would create smoother progression and more flexible cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

The response uses an adequate range of task-related vocabulary, including “share,” “occupy,” “percentage,” and “maximum,” and the meaning is generally clear. It also attempts more expressive language, such as “whopping,” but this is too informal for an academic report. Some collocations are imprecise: meals do not naturally “occupy” a percentage, and “maximum added sugar” is less natural than saying snacks account for the largest share. “Low values” is repeated and could be replaced with more precise terms such as “smallest proportion” or “lowest share.” These choices show some range, but greater control of formal, accurate chart-description language would make the vocabulary more flexible and precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response includes a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, and most of the information remains understandable. For example, the sentence beginning “Evidently” combines a contrast with specific figures. However, some grammatical errors and awkward constructions remain. “Snack and breakfast for have low values” contains an unnecessary “for” and disrupts the sentence structure. In “Similarly for saturated fat they are at 37%,” the opening phrase is not integrated cleanly and the pronoun “they” has an unclear reference. The sentence about “percentage of both dinner and lunch” also needs a clearer grammatical subject, such as “the figures for dinner and lunch.” More consistent sentence construction and clearer reference would improve accuracy while retaining the range of structures attempted.

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

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