Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-25

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 given charts demonstrate the average percentages in typical meals of three types of nutrients, all of which may be unhealthy if eaten too much.

Overall, dinner has the highest proportion of sodium and saturated fat, while breakfast has the lowest contribution. In contrast, snacks have the highest contribution of added suger.

The largest contribution of sodium is 43 percent which is in the dinner and 29 percent is in the lunch, while the snacks and breakfast have the equal share of 14 percent. Saturated fat has the similar pattern. The major distribution of saturated fat is 37 percent in dinner, followed by 26 percent in lunch and 21 percent in snacks. The least contribution of saturated fat is in breakfast which is 16 percent.

Furthermore, The highest share of added sugar is 42 percent is in snacks, while 23 percent in dinner and 19 percent in lunch. Moreover, breakfast has also least contribution in added sugar as well.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main contrasts accurately: dinner has the highest shares of sodium and saturated fat, and snacks lead for added sugar. Most figures are reported correctly, including sodium at 43% for dinner and 14% for breakfast and snacks, and saturated fat at 37% for dinner. However, the response is below the required 150 words, with 138 words counted (the 21 words copied from the prompt are excluded). Also, the final comparison does not give breakfast’s added-sugar figure of 16%, and the overview’s claim that breakfast has the lowest contribution is not true for sodium, where snacks tie with it. Include the missing figure and clarify that tie to make the summary more complete and precise.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a clear overall shape: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs grouping the nutrient details. This makes the information easy to follow, and connectors such as “Overall,” “In contrast,” and “Furthermore” signal the main shifts. However, progression within the detail paragraphs is somewhat mechanical, with repeated formulations such as “The largest contribution” and “The highest share.” The final sentence also repeats the point that breakfast is lowest without supplying its figure, so it feels incomplete. Build smoother comparisons across meal types and use clearer links between the figures; for example, contrast dinner’s high sodium with snacks’ high added sugar in a single developed comparison.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “proportion,” “share,” “contribution,” and “distribution,” and the meaning is generally clear. However, some choices are repetitive or imprecise: “contribution” is used several times where “percentage” or “proportion” would sound more natural, and “has the similar pattern” is an awkward collocation. There is also a spelling error in “suger.” Aim for more precise, varied language for describing chart values, while avoiding unnecessary synonyms that do not fit the context. For instance, describe a meal as “accounting for” a percentage or say that a nutrient “was highest at” a particular meal.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including contrast clauses with “while” and “whereas”-type comparisons, and the main information remains understandable. Some grammatical errors and awkward constructions persist. For example, “The largest contribution of sodium is 43 percent which is in the dinner” needs a clearer structure, such as “Dinner accounts for the largest share of sodium, at 43%.” In “The highest share of added sugar is 42 percent is in snacks,” the repeated verb makes the sentence ungrammatical. Capitalising “The” after “Furthermore,” is also incorrect. Check sentence boundaries and use one clear main verb in each clause.

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