Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-06

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 5.5)

The pie charts illustrate the cummulative figures in traditional meals of Sodium, Saturated Fat, Added Sugar in USA and they all might be not healthy if eaten in excess amount.

Overall, a large percentage of Sodium has been observed in the dinner meals at USA while this trend is marked as same for Saturated Fat. In contrast, the large figures for added sugar is noted in the snacks eaten by Americans while small percentage of all listed nutrients is accounted for breakfast.

Firstly, 43 percent of sodium is found mainly in Dinner while percentage is remained same in both breakfast and snacks which is about 14 percent of total, approximately half of sodium percentage found in dinner is accounted for Lunch.

Same goes for Saturated fat with 37 percent in dinner with 16 percent in breakfast which is also similar for added sugar.

Unlikely from above two nutrients, added sugar has mostly been marked in Snacks with 19 percent in lunch, a double of which is found in case of saturated fat.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main contrast accurately: dinner has the highest shares of sodium and saturated fat, while snacks lead for added sugar. The overview also notes breakfast’s relatively low figures, and several values are reported correctly, including sodium at 43% for dinner and 14% for breakfast and snacks. However, some important comparisons are incomplete or unclear. For example, you give saturated fat’s dinner and breakfast figures but omit its lunch and snack shares, and the added-sugar account does not clearly report all four meal values. The claim that breakfast has a small percentage of “all listed nutrients” is broadly supported, but added sugar is tied with saturated fat there, rather than being uniquely low. More complete, precise reporting would strengthen the summary.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview and two detail paragraphs, and the main contrast between dinner and snacks is easy to identify. However, progression within the detail paragraphs is uneven. The first paragraph moves from sodium to saturated fat and then added sugar without fully developing each comparison, while the final paragraph repeats the added-sugar point rather than completing a systematic account of the figures. Linking phrases such as “Firstly,” “In contrast,” and “Unlikely from above two nutrients” are used, but the last is awkward and the relationship it signals is not immediately clear. Grouping the data by nutrient or by meal, and using clearer comparisons between the categories, would make the information flow more logically.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “percentage,” “nutrients,” “accounted for,” and “in contrast,” so the reader can generally understand the comparisons. There is also an attempt to vary wording rather than simply repeat the chart labels. However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for this task: “cummulative figures” does not describe the chart, “traditional meals” is not the intended meaning of typical meals, and “large figures … is noted” is an awkward collocation. “Unlikely from above two nutrients” also obscures the intended contrast. Spelling errors such as “cummulative” and inconsistent capitalisation of nutrient names reduce control. Prefer precise, conventional chart language such as “proportions,” “meal categories,” and “the highest share.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrastive overview and a sentence comparing lunch with dinner. The overall meaning is usually recoverable, but some grammatical errors make individual statements less clear. For example, “a large percentage of Sodium has been observed in the dinner meals at USA” has awkward article and preposition use, while “percentage is remained same” uses an incorrect verb form. In “the large figures for added sugar is noted,” the subject and verb do not agree. The long sentence beginning “Firstly, 43 percent…” also needs clearer punctuation and sentence boundaries. Practise accurate present-tense reporting, subject–verb agreement, and articles and prepositions in phrases such as “in the USA” and “for dinner.”

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