Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-19

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 6.5)

The pie charts illustrate the proportion of sodium, saturated fat and added sugar that may be unhealthy in a normal meal if consumed in big quantity in the USA. Overall, sodium and saturated fat were consumed more as dinner and least as breakfast, while added sugar is eaten more as snacks and least as breakfast also.

In a typical USA meal, the dinner has 43% and 37% of sodium and saturated fat respectively, making dinner the meal of the day most unhealthy, followed by lunch, which accounted for 29% of Sodium and 26% of saturated fat. 14% and 21% of sodium and saturated respectively were found in the snacks while 14% of sodium and 16% of saturated fat were found in the food consumed as breakfast making it the safest meal of the day.

Conversely, the foods eaten as snacks accounted for 42% of added sugar making it unhealthy for consumption while the dinner has 23% added sugar. This is followed by the lunch of the day which has 19% of added sugar, while leaving breakfast as the least with 16% of added sugar.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by selecting, reporting, and comparing the main features of the charts. The overview accurately captures the general trends, noting that sodium and saturated fat peaked at dinner while added sugar peaked in snacks, with breakfast being the lowest across all categories. Key data points are well selected, such as dinner accounting for 43% of sodium and 37% of saturated fat, and snacks comprising 42% of added sugar. The figures cited match the visual data provided accurately. While some descriptions of the remaining data are slightly dense, the response meets all the core requirements of Task Achievement for Band 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The response is organized into three distinct paragraphs: an introduction with an overview, a detailed body paragraph covering sodium and saturated fat, and a final body paragraph focusing on added sugar. Progression is clear and logical throughout the text. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'Conversely', and 'This is followed by' are used appropriately to guide the reader through the data comparisons, though referencing is occasionally repetitive. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and contributes to an overall coherent arrangement, placing this response securely at Band 7.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, successfully employing terms like 'proportion', 'accounted for', and 'conversely'. However, there are some minor lexical inaccuracies and awkward phrasings, such as 'consumed more as dinner' instead of 'consumed most at dinner' and 'in big quantity' instead of 'in large quantities'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with limited precision, which keeps the lexical score at a solid Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including relative clauses and subordinate clauses (e.g., 'making dinner the meal of the day most unhealthy'). There are several grammatical slips and awkward prepositions, such as 'saturated' instead of 'saturated fat', 'consumed more as dinner', and minor punctuation lapses. However, these errors do not impede communication, and the overall control of grammar aligns well with the Band 6.0 descriptors.

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

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