Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-11-01

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 bar charts illustrated the percentage of saturated fats, soduim and added sygars in regular meals consumed in the USA. Dinner contained the largest portion in terms of consuming sodium and saturated fat. Snacks played the second largest part in sodium and saturated fat. While breakfast and lunch had small amount of sodium and saturated fat, but lunch has largest amount of added sugar.

Dinner dominated the bar in both sodium and saturated fat having contributed 43% and 37% respectively. People took 23% of added sugar in their dinner. Moreover, snakcs contained one third in terms of sodium and saturated fat having 29% and 26% for both, wheareas, breakfast had very small part of sodium with 14% and saturated fat contributing16%. Atlast, Snacks had largest amount of added sugar with respect to other nutrient with 42% in total, while dinner, launch, and snacks almost contributed halved of the added sugar, having dinner with 23%, lunch with19% and breakfast with 16% of added sugar.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main pattern that dinner has the highest shares of sodium and saturated fat, and you correctly report its figures of 43% and 37%. You also note that snacks account for the most added sugar, at 42%. However, several comparisons are inaccurate or unclear: snacks are not second highest for sodium (lunch is, at 29%), and the sentence saying lunch has the largest amount of added sugar contradicts the chart. The later claim that snacks contain 29% sodium and 26% saturated fat assigns lunch’s figures to snacks. The overview also calls breakfast and lunch small for both nutrients, although lunch is relatively high in sodium and saturated fat. Select the key contrasts accurately and summarise them consistently.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an opening summary is followed by a paragraph with figures, and linking expressions such as “Moreover” and “Atlast” signal additions. However, progression is weakened by repeated and contradictory claims. For example, the opening says lunch has the largest amount of added sugar, while the final paragraph correctly identifies snacks as highest. The sentence beginning “While breakfast and lunch…” is also joined awkwardly to “but,” and the final sentence is difficult to follow because it says “snacks almost contributed halved” before listing breakfast’s figure. Group the information by clear comparisons—dinner for sodium and saturated fat, and snacks for sugar—and use references and transitions that make each comparison easy to track.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant chart vocabulary, including “percentage,” “largest,” “contributed,” and “respectively,” so the topic is generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, such as “largest portion in terms of consuming,” “played the second largest part,” and “dominated the bar.” Spelling errors—including “soduim,” “sygars,” “snakcs,” and “wheareas”—also make the writing less clear and reduce precision. Use straightforward reporting language consistently, such as “accounted for,” “share,” and “proportion,” and check spellings carefully. Avoid describing the charts as bars when the task presents pie charts.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a sentence beginning “While” and one using “having contributed,” but control is uneven. The opening contains a fragment-like contrast: “While breakfast and lunch had small amount …, but lunch has…”; this also shifts tense from past to present. In “Dinner dominated the bar … having contributed,” the participial construction is awkward, and “breakfast had very small part” is missing an article. The final sentence has unclear clause structure and punctuation, making the relationship between the figures hard to follow. Aim for complete sentences with one clear comparison each, maintain past tense, and check articles and sentence boundaries.

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