Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-12

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.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Student answer (Band 6.0)

The pie chart illustrate the average percentage of three different types of nutrients, namely saturated fats, sodium and added sugars, consumed by people in USA in breakfast, dinner, snacks and lunch, all of which can be harmful if eaten too much.

Overall, dinner consists mostly saturated fats and sodium, which are least found in breakfast. Sodium is present in same amount in both breakfast and snacks. And added sugar is widely present in snacks.

Breakfast comtains lowest amount of all nutrients three with 14% of sodium, 16% of saturated fats and 16% of added sugars. On the other hand, dinner is obsereved to be the best source of sodium and saturated fat with 43% and 37% respectively, followed by second highest source of added sugars with 23%.

Similarly, lunch is the second main source of sodium and saturated fat with 29% and 26% respectively, and 19% of added sugars. In contrast, added sugar is largely present in snacks with 42%, and saturated fat is only about 21%. Consiquently, it is not a good source of sodium because it only consist 14%, which is same as breakfast.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the three nutrients across the four meal categories. The student correctly identifies overall trends, such as dinner containing the highest proportions of saturated fats and sodium, and snacks being dominant in added sugars. Comparisons are made between the meals, as seen in the statement that lunch is the second main source of sodium and saturated fat. However, there are minor inaccuracies in data reporting, such as stating breakfast contains 14% of sodium and 16% of saturated fats and added sugars, when these specific figures require careful interpretation from visual data. Nevertheless, the key data points are appropriately highlighted, and the overview clearly summarises the main features. The response meets all the requirements for a Band 6.5, leaning towards Band 7 for its clear coverage of main features, but minor slips in data precision keep it at Band 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is structured logically with an introduction, an overall statement, and distinct body paragraphs grouping the information. Cohesive devices are used to guide the reader through the data, such as 'Overall', 'On the other hand', 'Similarly', and 'In contrast'. Paragraphing is appropriate, separating the introduction/overview from the detailed body paragraphs. However, some cohesive links feel slightly mechanical or repetitive, and referencing is occasionally affected by phrasing choices, such as 'Consiquently, it is not a good source'. Progression of ideas is generally clear, moving smoothly from a general summary to specific percentages for each meal type. The overall arrangement is coherent, earning a solid Band 6.5.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for an Academic Task 1 response, using terms such as 'percentage', 'nutrients', 'saturated fats', 'sodium', and 'added sugars'. There are several attempts to use less common vocabulary and appropriate reporting verbs and adjectives, such as 'widely present', 'obsereved', and 'substantive' equivalents. However, there are notable spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'comtains' instead of contains, 'obsereved' instead of observed, and 'Consiquently' instead of Consequently. Additionally, prepositional and collocation slips occur, such as 'consist mostly saturated fats' instead of 'consist mostly of' and 'consist 14%' instead of 'accounts for 14%'. These errors do not impede communication, but they prevent the score from reaching Band 7. Therefore, a Band 6 is appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over relative clauses and comparative structures, such as in 'dinner is obsereved to be the best source of sodium and saturated fat with 43% and 37% respectively, followed by second highest source'. There are several grammatical errors and typos, including subject-verb agreement issues ('The pie chart illustrate' instead of illustrates), missing prepositions ('consist mostly saturated fats'), and spelling mistakes ('comtains', 'obsereved', 'Consiquently'). Despite these errors, the sentence structures remain reasonably varied, and the meaning is generally clear without significant impedance to the reader. This performance aligns well with the Band 6 descriptors for grammatical range and accuracy.

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

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