Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-08

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)

A survey shows the result about people's coffee and tea buying and drinking habits in five Australian cities in last 4 weeks. In overall, we can see that people are more interesting in buying and drinking coffee and tea in several Australian cities. People are generally more visiting at cafe for buying and drinking tea or coffee. Whereas bought instant coffee or fresh coffee are leading too.

Firstly, we can clearly see that in Melbourne and Hobart people are buying and drinking tea or coffee while went to a cafe have increasing percentage with both have more than 60%. However, in Brisbane and Adelaide trend is not same and residents are less interested.

Additionally, instant coffee buyers are more in Hobart and Brisbane. While, in Sydney and Melbourne there are not many buyers of instant coffee. For fresh coffee the trend is lower than others. Sydney and Melbourne having most buyers for fresh coffee but Brisbane and Adelaide does not have more buyers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the chart, but the analysis is somewhat superficial. While you identify trends in the five cities, the comparisons are often vague (e.g., 'residents are less interested'). To reach a higher band, you need to include specific data points from the chart to support your claims. The overview provided is a good start, but it lacks precision. Ensure that you clearly distinguish between the three categories (cafe, instant coffee, fresh coffee) and provide a more structured comparison between the cities to better highlight the differences and similarities.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and occasionally inaccurate. For example, 'Whereas bought instant coffee or fresh coffee are leading too' is a fragmented sentence that does not connect well to the previous thought. Additionally, the transition between the overview and the body paragraphs could be smoother. While there is a logical progression, the relationships between ideas are sometimes obscured by awkward phrasing, which impacts the overall flow of the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for a higher band. You rely on repetitive phrasing, such as 'buying and drinking' and 'more buyers'. There are also some word-choice errors, such as 'people are more interesting in' instead of 'interested in' and 'while went to a cafe' instead of 'when visiting a cafe'. To improve, focus on using more varied synonyms and precise collocations related to data description, such as 'a significant proportion' or 'a downward trend'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Issues include subject-verb agreement ('Brisbane and Adelaide does not have'), incorrect verb forms ('while went to a cafe'), and awkward sentence construction ('Sydney and Melbourne having most buyers'). Punctuation is also inconsistent. While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of errors in basic grammar prevents the response from achieving a higher score. Focus on mastering subject-verb agreement and consistent tense usage.

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

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