Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-11-05

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The chart below shows the results of a survey about people’s coffee and tea buying and drinking habits in five Australian cities.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Student answer (Band 4.5)

the bar chat illuestrates the result of a survey about people coffee and tea buying and drinking habits in five australian cities. Ovarall it is clear that the bar chat percentage of city residents bought fresh coffee in last 4 weeks higest additionaly bought instant coffee or tea in last 4 weeks had hobart is higest figure while the went to a cafe for coffee or tea in last 4 weeks melbourne is higest trend in bar chat

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You identify the chart’s general subject and attempt an overview, noting that café visits are highest in Melbourne and that Hobart has the highest instant-coffee figure. However, the overview is difficult to interpret, and the claim that fresh coffee is highest is not supported: Sydney has the highest figure, at about 44%, while Brisbane and Adelaide are lowest. The response gives almost no clear comparisons or supporting data, so it addresses the task only minimally. It also contains 67 words, which is 83 words below the 150-word minimum; 11 words copied from the prompt were excluded from that count. To improve, write a clear overview and report several accurate comparisons across the cities and categories.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

The response has a basic sequence: it introduces the chart and then attempts to give an overall summary. However, it is presented as one long sentence, with no paragraphing or clear separation between the main features. The linking words “Overall” and “additionally” are present, but the ideas they connect are not expressed clearly, so the reader has difficulty following the comparisons. For example, the clause beginning “bought fresh coffee…” runs into the statement about instant coffee and then café visits without a clear structure. Organise the response into an introduction, an overview, and a short details paragraph, using clear sentence boundaries and direct comparisons.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “survey,” “percentage,” “residents,” “instant coffee,” and “café,” so the topic is recognisable. However, the range is limited and several spelling errors make the writing harder to read, such as “bar chat,” “illuestrates,” and “Ovarall.” Some phrases are also awkward or unclear, including “higest additionaly” and “higest trend.” Use precise reporting language such as “accounted for,” “was highest,” and “compared with,” and check spelling carefully. Repeating the chart labels is understandable, but varying them with accurate terms such as “fresh-coffee purchases” and “café visits” would make the description more concise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response shows an attempt to form a longer sentence and includes a basic introductory clause, but the grammatical range is very limited and errors frequently obscure the relationships between ideas. For example, “it is clear that the bar chat percentage of city residents bought fresh coffee” lacks a clear grammatical structure, while “had hobart is higest figure” does not form a correct clause. The final sequence also joins several comparisons without clear sentence boundaries. Practise writing short, complete sentences with a subject and verb, such as “Hobart had the highest proportion of instant-coffee buyers.” Then combine ideas only when the grammatical links are clear, and use punctuation to separate the overview from supporting details.

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

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