Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-30

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 6.5)

The barchart displays the results of a survey about people's coffee and tea buying and drinking habits in the last 4 weeks in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisban, Adelaide, Hobart. The figures are gives as percentages.

Overall, individuals who went to a cafe for coffee or tea had the highest drinking habits. However, in Adelaide, people who bought instant coffee represented the highest drinking habit. By contrast, those who bought fresh coffee accounted for the lowest drinking habit.

In Sydney, those who bought fresh coffee stood at about 42%, whereas people who bought instant coffee was around 44%. Those who went to a cafe for coffee was roughly 60%, which was the most prevalent habit. Similarly, in Melbourne and Brisbane, the least common drinking habit were those who bought fresh coffee, while individuals who went to a cafe represented the most dominant drinking habit.

By contrast, in Adelaide, those who bought instant coffee accounted for the most common drinking habit at almost half, followed by those who went to a cafe. Those who bought coffee was the least common habit. Nevertheless, in Hobart, the most prevalent drinking habit were those who went to the cafe, which was about 60%, whereas those who bought fresh coffee was only 38%, which was the least prevalent drinking habit.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response covers all parts of the task by identifying the main features and making relevant comparisons across the five cities. You have successfully highlighted the dominance of cafe visits in most cities and contrasted this with the specific trends in Adelaide and Hobart. However, the analysis could be improved by ensuring the data points are more precise; for instance, stating 'almost half' for Adelaide is a bit vague when specific percentages are available. Additionally, ensure all city names are spelled correctly (e.g., 'Brisban' should be 'Brisbane'). Overall, the report provides a clear overview and sufficient detail to satisfy the requirements of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs that group information by city or trend. The use of cohesive devices such as 'However', 'By contrast', and 'Similarly' helps to guide the reader through the comparisons. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different aspects of the data. To reach a higher band, ensure that the referencing is always clear; for example, in the third paragraph, 'the least common drinking habit were those' contains a subject-verb agreement error that slightly disrupts the flow of the comparison.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You have used a sufficient range of vocabulary to describe the data, such as 'prevalent', 'accounted for', and 'represented'. There is an attempt to use less common items, which is positive. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'highest drinking habits' (habits are usually described as 'common' or 'frequent' rather than 'high'). Additionally, the repetition of 'drinking habit' throughout the text makes the writing feel slightly mechanical. Expanding your range of synonyms for 'habit' or 'trend' would improve the sophistication of your response.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. Specifically, there are subject-verb agreement issues, such as 'the least common drinking habit were those' and 'those who bought fresh coffee was only 38%'. These errors are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. To improve, pay closer attention to matching plural subjects with plural verbs. Despite these slips, the errors do not impede communication, and the overall structure remains functional for the task.

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

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