Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-12

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 7.5)

The bar chart compares the percentages of residents in five Australian cities who bought fresh coffee, bought instant coffee, or visited a cafe for coffee or tea during the previous four weeks.

Overall, visiting a cafe was the most popular activity in four of the five cities, while buying fresh coffee was the least common choice in every city. In addition, the proportion of people purchasing instant coffee was generally higher than that of those buying fresh coffee.

Cafe attendance was highest in Melbourne, where just over 60% of residents had visited a cafe in the previous four weeks. Sydney followed closely at 60%, while the figures for Hobart and Brisbane were approximately 58% and 55%, respectively. Adelaide recorded the lowest percentage, at just under 50%.

With regard to coffee purchases, buying instant coffee was consistently more popular than buying fresh coffee. Around 50% of people in Brisbane purchased instant coffee, making it the highest figure among the five cities, followed by Hobart at about 49%. The proportions in Melbourne, Adelaide, and Sydney were approximately 46%, 45%, and 44%, respectively.

By contrast, fresh coffee attracted considerably fewer buyers. Around 44% of Sydney residents bought fresh coffee, compared with 43% in Melbourne. The figures were much lower in the remaining cities, standing at approximately 34% in Hobart, 34% in Brisbane, and 35% in Adelaide.

Taking everything into account, the survey indicates that Australians generally preferred drinking coffee or tea at cafés over purchasing coffee for home consumption, while instant coffee was consistently more popular than fresh coffee across the five cities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

The response fully addresses all parts of the task by accurately summarising the main features of the chart regarding coffee and tea habits across five Australian cities. The opening paragraph provides a clear overview, and the subsequent paragraphs effectively select and report key data points, such as Melbourne leading in cafe attendance and Brisbane recording the highest figures for instant coffee purchases. Relevant comparisons are made throughout the text, such as contrasting instant and fresh coffee preferences and highlighting city-level differences. The data is accurately interpreted, and the overall summary synthesises the main trends well without any significant omissions. Therefore, this performance easily meets the requirements for a high band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The essay is logically organised with a clear progression of ideas from a general introduction and overview to specific body paragraphs detailing cafe attendance, instant coffee purchases, and fresh coffee purchases, concluding with a concise summary. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct categories of information. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'With regard to', 'By contrast', and 'Taking everything into account' are managed effectively to guide the reader through the data. Referencing is clear throughout, and the overall flow is smooth, demonstrating strong organisational control.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

The student demonstrates a wide and flexible range of vocabulary suited to a Task 1 response, using appropriate terms like 'proportion', 'residents', 'consumption', and 'recorded'. Less common lexical items and phrasing, such as 'consistently more popular', 'attracted considerably fewer buyers', and 'home consumption', are integrated naturally. Word choices and collocations are generally accurate, and spelling is correct throughout. While it occasionally relies on standard report vocabulary rather than highly sophisticated uncommon idioms, the lexical range is more than sufficient for clear and precise communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.5

The writing exhibits a strong variety of complex sentence structures, including participial phrases and subordinate clauses (e.g., 'where just over 60% of residents had visited a cafe', 'making it the highest figure among the five cities'). The majority of sentences are error-free, and control over grammar and punctuation is consistently high. Only occasional minor issues might be noted, but these do not impede communication in any way. The grammatical range and accuracy comfortably satisfy the criteria for a high band score.

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