Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-21

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 three pie chart compares the average percentage of of sodium, saturated fats and added sugar consumed at four eating ocassions in United States: Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch and Snacks. At a glance, Sodium and Saturated fats makes up highest proportion of dinner, while snacks contribute the largest percentage of added sugar. Breakfast accounts for lowest figure at all the nutrients, jointly with snacks with sodium.

Looking first at sodium, dinner reperents highest proportion of 43% consumption, followed by lunch at 29%. Breakfast and snacks each accounts for 14%. Saturated fats followed a simillar trends, with again dinner ranks first at 37%. Lunch shares 26%, compare with snacks and brakfast 21% and 16% respectively.

By contrast, added sugar primarily consumes in snacks, which is 42% of totall, almost twice the figure for dinner at 23%. Lunch makes up 19% of the consumption in saturated fats, whereas breakfast has the lowest proportion compare with the other items, at 16%

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main contrast accurately: dinner has the highest shares of sodium and saturated fat, while snacks lead for added sugar. Most figures are also reported correctly, including sodium at 43% for dinner and 29% for lunch, and added sugar at 42% for snacks. However, the overview says breakfast is lowest for all nutrients, which is not accurate: snacks and breakfast tie for the lowest sodium share, and breakfast is not the lowest for saturated fat. The final comparison also mistakenly describes lunch’s 19% as saturated fat rather than added sugar. These inaccuracies and the limited coverage of comparisons make the summary only partly complete. Check each figure against its category and make the overview precise.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction and overview are followed by paragraphs on sodium and saturated fat, then added sugar. This makes the main information easy to locate, and transitions such as “Looking first” and “By contrast” help signal the shift between categories. Some connections are less clear, however. The overview’s claim about breakfast being lowest conflicts with the later figures, and the final sentence’s reference to “saturated fats” disrupts the progression because it is discussing added sugar. The comparison of snacks and breakfast in the saturated-fat paragraph would also be clearer if each figure were explicitly matched to its meal. Use accurate references and link each comparison directly to the chart category.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some suitable chart-reporting language, including “accounts for,” “followed by,” “proportion,” and “By contrast,” which helps communicate comparisons. There is also an attempt to vary phrasing rather than repeat the same verb throughout. However, several spelling errors—“ocassions,” “reperents,” “simillar,” “brakfast,” and “totall”—are noticeable, and some word combinations are inaccurate or awkward, such as “dinner ranks first” and “added sugar primarily consumes in snacks.” The phrase “consumption in saturated fats” also mislabels the data. These issues reduce precision, so prioritise accurate spelling and natural collocations for describing proportions. For example, say that a meal “accounts for” a share or that a nutrient “is highest in” a meal.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of sentence forms, including a compound overview and comparative structures such as “almost twice the figure for dinner.” The meaning is generally recoverable, but errors in agreement and sentence construction recur. For example, “The three pie chart compares” needs plural agreement, while “Sodium and Saturated fats makes up” should use a plural verb. In “Breakfast and snacks each accounts,” the verb should also be plural. The opening contains a repeated “of,” and the final sentence lacks a full stop. Some comparisons are formed awkwardly, as in “Breakfast has the lowest proportion compare with the other items.” Review subject–verb agreement, articles, and comparative sentence patterns, then proofread punctuation.

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