Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-27

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 charts illustrate the average percentage in typical food of three different nutrients, if people eaten too much it is very harmful for healthy life.

Overall, there are three charts like saodium, saturated fat, and added sugar in typical foods consumed in the United State of America. The charts divided different four typical meals like breakfast, dinner, lunch, and snacks. Sodium and saturated fat highest category is dinner and in added sugar highest is snacks.

In the first chart, sodium percentage in dinner is 43, and in lunch is 29, and in snacks 14, and breakfast percentage same with snacks. In the second chart, saturated fat ratio in dinner is 37, and in lunch is 26, and in breakfast is 16 and in snacks is 21.

In the third chart, added sugar in snacks is 42, and in dinner is 23, and in breakfast is 16, and in lunch is 19. Snacks is highest and breakfast is lowest portion in the chart.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main pattern accurately: dinner has the highest shares of sodium and saturated fat, while snacks lead for added sugar. The figures you report also match the chart, including sodium at 43% for dinner and added sugar at 42% for snacks. This gives the response a relevant overview and covers all three nutrients. However, the overview could compare the distributions more fully—for example, noting that breakfast is the lowest category for sodium and saturated fat, while snacks are lowest for saturated fat only. The introduction’s comment that excessive intake is harmful is not needed to summarise the data. A more selective overview of the main contrasts, followed by precise comparisons, would make the key features clearer and more fully developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for the nutrient charts. This makes the information easy to locate, and phrases such as “In the first chart” and “In the second chart” help signal the sequence. However, the progression is somewhat mechanical, with repeated sentence patterns and lists of figures rather than comparisons that connect the data. The overview also repeats information about the chart categories already introduced. Some links between details could be clearer; for instance, the final paragraph could contrast snacks’ high sugar share with their lower sodium share. Grouping related comparisons and using a wider range of linking expressions would create smoother cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing charts, including “percentage,” “ratio,” “highest,” “lowest,” and “portion,” so the main information is generally understandable. However, the range is limited and some choices are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “percentage in typical food,” “highest category,” and “harmful for healthy life.” The spelling “saodium” also weakens accuracy, and “typical foods” is less precise than describing the figures as shares of nutrients in meals. Try using a more varied set of accurate chart terms, such as “proportion,” “accounted for,” and “largest share,” while keeping collocations natural. This would make the report more precise without requiring unnecessarily complex vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

Your response uses mostly simple sentence forms, with some attempts to combine ideas, and the meaning is usually clear. There are, however, several grammatical errors that limit accuracy. In the opening, “if people eaten too much” needs a correctly formed clause, such as “if people eat too much.” The phrase “The charts divided different four typical meals” is missing a passive verb and has an awkward determiner structure; write “The charts divide the data into four typical meals.” There are also sentence fragments or incomplete comparisons in the data paragraphs, such as “and in snacks 14.” Aim to form complete sentences consistently and practise accurate verb forms, articles, and parallel structures when listing figures.

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

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