Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-27
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 graph compares the result of people preference towards drinking habits in five Australian province.
Overall, Australian citizens had preferred drinking coffee and tea in cafes, compared with, buying fresh coffee in last 4 weeks had the lowest proportion in five Australian cities, while buying instant coffee had second largest percentage in last 4 weeks.
Firstly, citizens living in Melbourne, had highest percentage of drinking coffee and tea in cafe, accounting for 64%, compared with, Hobart had 64%, meanwhile, Adelaide with the lowest, containing 49%.
For instance, Hobart had the highest percentage of purchasing instant coffee, accounting for 54%, while Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney having almost similar percentage, around 45-53% respectively.
Moreover, Sydney had the highest ratio of buying fresh coffee in last 4 weeks, representing 44%, Additionally, other percentage of other cities were in between 37-42%.
To sum up, Melbourne had the highest proportion for travelling to cafe for coffee, whereas Sydney and Hobart is the highest for buying fresh coffee and instant coffee in the last 4 weeks.
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 of habits across the five cities. However, the analysis is somewhat inconsistent. For instance, you mention Melbourne and Hobart both at 64% for cafe visits, but the data for Hobart is actually slightly lower. Additionally, the comparison of 'buying fresh coffee' and 'instant coffee' is a bit muddled in the summary. While you identify the key trends, the reporting of specific figures is occasionally inaccurate, which prevents a higher score. To improve, ensure that data points are transcribed precisely from the chart and that comparisons are clearly linked to the specific categories provided.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, moving from an overview to specific details. You use cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Moreover', and 'To sum up' to guide the reader. However, the flow is sometimes hindered by awkward phrasing and repetitive sentence structures, such as the frequent use of 'accounting for' and 'representing'. The referencing is generally clear, but the transition between the overview and the body paragraphs could be smoother. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear thematic focus would enhance the overall coherence.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing you to describe the trends and figures. You use terms like 'proportion', 'percentage', and 'ratio' appropriately. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice, such as referring to cities as 'Australian province' (they are cities) and 'travelling to cafe' (visiting a cafe is more natural). The range of vocabulary is somewhat limited, relying on repetitive structures to describe the data. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more varied synonyms for 'highest' or 'lowest' and use more precise collocations related to survey data.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'result of people preference' (should be 'people's preferences') and 'Sydney and Hobart is the highest' (subject-verb agreement error: 'are'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with unnecessary commas appearing frequently, such as after 'Melbourne' and 'compared with'. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the main points, they occur frequently enough to impact the overall fluency and accuracy of the writing. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and refining punctuation will help improve your score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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