Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-12

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 5.5)

The pie chart illustrates about the average proportion of three different kind of nutrients in breakfast, dinner, lunch and snacks and all of them may be harmful if consume much more in the USA.

As can be seen, percentage of sodium are similar in breakfast and snacks which is 14% in the USA. The highest proportion of sodium has shown in dinner which counted 43% and 29% counted for lunch. Moreover, there are some differences in the figure of saturated fat for snacks which is around 21% and 16% breakfast. Additionally dinner and lunch has consume 37% and 26% of saturated fat respectively.

Moving onto sugar, the lowest figure has counted for breakfast which is also similar for saturated fat around 16% and lunch consumed only 19% sugar. In contrast, the snacks consumed too much sugar nearly 42% which is higher than sodium and saturated fat and 23% of sugar counted for dinner.

Overall, it can be clearly seen that the highest percentage of sugar consumed in snacks and the lowest proportion has shown in sodium category for snacks and dinner in the USA.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main pattern that dinner has the highest sodium and saturated-fat shares, while snacks have the highest added-sugar share, and you include several accurate figures. However, the overview is incomplete and partly inaccurate: it calls sodium in snacks and dinner the lowest, although dinner is the highest at 43%; the lowest sodium values are breakfast and snacks, both 14%. The report also does not clearly summarise the overall contrast between dinner’s higher sodium and saturated fat and snacks’ higher sugar. Some comparisons, such as sugar being “higher than sodium and saturated fat,” are not sufficiently precise because they compare nutrient categories rather than meal shares. A more accurate overview and clearer comparisons across all three nutrients would make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall arrangement: an introduction is followed by discussion of sodium and saturated fat, then sugar, and finally an overview. Linking phrases such as “Moreover,” “Additionally,” and “Moving onto sugar” help signal these shifts. However, the progression is sometimes mechanical, and the final overview repeats information without accurately consolidating the main patterns. Some references are also unclear, as in “the lowest figure has counted for breakfast,” where the reader must infer that this refers to added sugar. Grouping the comparisons more systematically—for example, contrasting the highest and lowest meal for each nutrient—would improve cohesion and make the relationships between figures easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “proportion,” “highest,” “lowest,” and “consumed,” and the meaning is generally understandable. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “about the average proportion,” “has shown,” “counted for,” and “consumed too much sugar.” The phrase “three different kind of nutrients” also shows an imprecise word form. These choices sometimes make the data description less clear, even though the intended meaning can usually be recovered. Aim for precise chart language such as “accounted for,” “stood at,” and “the share of added sugar,” and avoid evaluative wording like “too much” when simply reporting percentages.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, and most of the information remains understandable. However, some grammatical errors recur in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction. For example, “if consume much more” needs a subject and a suitable passive or active form, while “percentage of sodium are” has a singular-plural agreement problem. In “dinner and lunch has consume,” the subject requires a plural verb and the verb phrase is incorrectly formed. The sentence beginning “The highest proportion of sodium has shown” also uses an unsuitable tense and voice. Work on accurate past or present reporting forms and subject–verb agreement; these corrections would make your comparisons clearer while preserving your attempts at varied structures.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.