Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-13
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 result a data about individual's purchasing of coffee and tea and drinking habits in five major cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Hobart in Australia in last 4 weeks.
Overall, it is clear that the highest proportion of people visit to cafe for coffee or tea in all the cities provided here. The proportion of buying instant coffee have increased slightly in all cities, there are a fluctuation in terms of buying fresh coffee in last four weeks.
Melbourne city has the highest number of percentage in visiting cafe for coffee or tea in these cities accounted for almost 64%, the lowest proportion on this section is in Adelaide which is just under 50%. Similarly, Hobart city has also considerable amount of proportion in visiting cafe which is almost 63%.
In terms of of purchasing instant coffee, the largest proportion is in Hobart city with nearly 54%, while the minimum proportion is Sydney which is only 45%. On the other hand, Sydney has the proportion of buying fresh coffee accounted for almost 44%, and the lowest percentage is in Brisbane which is under 35%.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers all parts of the task by identifying the main features and making relevant comparisons across the five cities. You successfully highlighted the highest and lowest proportions for each category. However, the overview is slightly inaccurate; you mentioned that instant coffee consumption 'increased' and fresh coffee had 'fluctuations', but the chart is a static snapshot of a four-week period, not a time-series graph. Therefore, describing trends over time is factually incorrect based on the provided data. To improve, ensure you describe the data as it is presented (comparative) rather than assuming a temporal change.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs focusing on specific categories. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Similarly', 'In terms of', and 'On the other hand' to link ideas. However, the paragraphing is a bit disjointed, and the transition between the overview and the body paragraphs could be smoother. The referencing is generally clear, but some sentences feel slightly mechanical. To reach a higher band, focus on using a wider variety of cohesive devices to connect sentences more fluidly rather than relying on simple sentence starters.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'proportion', 'purchasing', and 'fluctuation'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation. For example, 'visit to cafe' should be 'visit a cafe', and 'highest number of percentage' is redundant; 'highest percentage' is sufficient. Additionally, 'on this section' is not the most natural way to refer to a category in a chart. Expanding your vocabulary to include more precise descriptors for data, such as 'the majority of' or 'a significant minority', would enhance your score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'illustrates the result a data' (should be 'illustrates data regarding'), 'proportion of buying' (should be 'proportion of people buying'), and 'Sydney has the proportion of buying' (which is slightly awkward). While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. You should focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of prepositions when describing data points to improve your accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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