Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-11-14

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 5.5)

The chart illustrates the outcome of an inquiry related with people's coffee and tea purchasing and drinking habits in five Australian cities.

Overall, it can be clearly seen that buying drinks from a cafe maintained the highest position throughout the period whereas, buying fresh coffee experienced the lowest percentage in 4 weeks.

Cities like Sydney, Melbourne and Hobert which are quite busy; people choose to buy a coffee or a cup of tea from a cafe rather than making at home. Also in Brisben and Adelaide individuals would like to have instant coffee and cafe made drinks.

Buying from cafe maintained over 50 percent city residents in average while, instant coffee hanging below 50 percent of the total residents. Individually in Adelaide instant coffee surpassed the cafe by a minimal percentage. But fresh coffee remained in the below.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the broad pattern that café visits are generally the most popular option and fresh coffee purchases are usually the least popular, which gives the response a relevant overview. However, the overview is not fully accurate: fresh coffee is not the lowest in every city, since instant coffee is lower in Sydney and Melbourne. The comparisons are also limited and include an unsupported explanation that the cities are “quite busy.” Adelaide is the only city where café visits fall below instant coffee, but the response says instant coffee surpassed café visits by only a minimal percentage without giving the clearer contrast. The response is also 12 words below the required minimum, leaving important comparisons and figures underdeveloped. Add accurate city-level data and a fuller overview.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic paragraph structure, moving from an introduction to an overview and then to comparisons, so the reader can follow its general purpose. However, progression is limited: the final paragraph repeats the café and fresh-coffee points rather than systematically comparing the three categories across the cities. Linking words such as “Also,” “while,” and “But” help connect ideas, but some are used awkwardly or do not make the relationship precise. For example, “Individually in Adelaide” does not clearly signal the contrast, and “But fresh coffee remained in the below” leaves the point unfinished. Organise the body around the main comparisons and use clear references to the relevant cities and categories.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “percentage,” “surpassed,” and “maintained,” and the reader can generally understand that the response concerns buying coffee and visiting cafés. However, the range is limited and several choices are unnatural or imprecise, such as “inquiry related with,” “buying drinks from a cafe,” and “cafe made drinks.” “Hobert” and “Brisben” are misspelled, while “the below” does not express the intended comparison clearly. These errors make parts of the report less precise, particularly when describing the chart’s categories. Use the chart’s own labels where possible, and choose natural collocations such as “survey results,” “visit a café,” and “below 50%.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response attempts both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast with “whereas” and a clause beginning “which,” but control is inconsistent. For example, “buying drinks from a cafe maintained the highest position throughout the period whereas, buying fresh coffee experienced the lowest percentage in 4 weeks” has faulty punctuation and an unclear comparison. In “people choose to buy … rather than making at home,” the verb forms are not parallel, and “Buying from cafe maintained over 50 percent city residents in average” has missing grammatical elements. The final sentence, “But fresh coffee remained in the below,” is incomplete. Check articles, sentence completeness, parallel structures, and punctuation, while keeping the useful attempts at complex sentences.

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