Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-04
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 compares percentage of city residents who buying coffee and tea and drinking habits in five urbans in australia in last 4 weeks among 3 different types of people.
Looking first at the higher figures, people who went to a cafe for coffee or tea stood at 63 % in melbourne in last 4 weeks, making it the highest figure. This was followed by Hobart , which stood at 62 % . It is significant that adelaide had the lowest percentage at 49 % of city residents who went to a cafe for coffee and tea in last 4 weeks.
By contrast, Bought fresh coffee in last 4 weeks in brisbone and adelaide cities recorded the lowest figure, at 34 percent of city residents. Meanwhile, people who bought instant coffee in last 4 weeks had the highest percentage at 54 in hobart and followed it in brisbone city.
Overall, went to a cafe for coffee and tea in last 4 weeks remained the highest overall, while bought fresh coffee was the lowest, with other categories showing ups and downs in percentage in 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 chart, such as identifying the highest and lowest figures for the categories provided. However, the analysis is somewhat superficial. While you mention specific cities like Melbourne and Hobart, the comparison between the three categories (cafe, fresh coffee, instant coffee) is not fully integrated. The data reporting is occasionally imprecise, such as stating 'followed it in brisbone city' without providing the actual percentage figure. To reach a higher band, ensure that all key data points are clearly stated and that comparisons are made more consistently across all five cities rather than focusing only on the extremes.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. You use some cohesive devices like 'Looking first at', 'By contrast', and 'Overall' to signal transitions. However, the flow within paragraphs is sometimes mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally unclear. For example, the phrase 'followed it in brisbone city' lacks a clear antecedent or specific data to link back to the previous sentence effectively. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each sentence logically follows the previous one will enhance the overall coherence of your writing.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it is quite repetitive. You frequently use the phrase 'in last 4 weeks' and 'city residents', which limits the range of your expression. There are also some spelling errors, such as 'urbans' instead of 'urban areas' or 'cities', and 'brisbone' instead of 'Brisbane'. To improve, try to use synonyms for 'percentage' (e.g., 'proportion', 'rate') and 'highest/lowest' (e.g., 'peaked at', 'bottomed out'). Expanding your range of descriptive verbs and nouns will help you achieve a higher score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Issues include missing articles (e.g., 'in last 4 weeks' should be 'in the last 4 weeks'), incorrect verb forms (e.g., 'who buying' instead of 'who bought'), and capitalization errors (e.g., 'australia', 'melbourne', 'adelaide'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to affect the clarity of your writing. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and consistent use of articles will significantly improve your accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.