Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-05
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 5.5)
The bar chart illustrates the comparison about people's coffee and tea buying and drinking habits in five major cities of Australia including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart.
Overall, Melbourne recorded the most percentage of city residents who went to a cafe for coffee or tea in last 4 weeks, Hobart observed the highest share of people who bought instant coffee in last 4 weeks and Sydney ended up with top preferred city to bring fresh coffee. In contrast, Adelaide and Brisbane secured lower percentages compared to other cities.
Sydney accounted for almost 44% of residents for people who bought fresh coffee, 46% for individuals that bought instant coffee and around 60% of users who went to a cafe for coffee and tea, whereas Melbourne observed a significant growth in two of the habits with bringing instant coffee accounted for around 48% and visiting of cafe recorded approximately as 63% compared to Sydney. Anyhow, fresh coffee in Melbourne only observed like 42% of interest from peoples.
Adelaide follows Melbourne with a substantial growth in share of instant coffee with below 55%, but experiences a rapid growth in the percentage of fresh coffee with around 37%.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers the main features of the data, including the three categories across the five cities. However, the accuracy of the data reporting is inconsistent. For example, you state that Melbourne had the highest share of instant coffee, but the chart shows Hobart is higher. Additionally, the description of Sydney's data is somewhat confusing, and the comparison between cities lacks precision. While you identify the main trends, the misinterpretation of specific data points prevents a higher score. To improve, ensure that you double-check the figures against the visual data and focus on highlighting the most significant differences rather than listing individual percentages for every city.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs. You use some cohesive devices like 'In contrast' and 'whereas' to link ideas. However, the flow between sentences is occasionally mechanical, and some transitions are awkward, such as 'Anyhow, fresh coffee in Melbourne only observed like 42%'. The referencing is sometimes unclear, making it difficult to follow which city is being compared to which. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that comparisons are explicitly stated would enhance the overall coherence of the response.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to describe the trends. You use terms like 'illustrates', 'recorded', and 'accounted for' appropriately. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'most percentage' (should be 'highest percentage') and 'top preferred city to bring fresh coffee' (should be 'buy fresh coffee'). The phrase 'observed like 42%' is too informal for an academic report. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise collocations and avoiding informal phrasing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'visiting of cafe recorded approximately as 63%' and 'people's coffee and tea buying and drinking habits'. There are also issues with article usage and prepositional phrases. While these errors do not significantly impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and refining the use of articles will help improve your accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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