Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-13
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 illustrates coffee and tea buying and drinking habits across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart. In general, the proportion of residents who went to a cafe for a coffee or tea in the last 4 weeks was relatively higher than residents who bought fresh and instant coffee.
People who went to a cafe in Hobart had a percentage of approximately 63%, while people who bought an instant coffee in the same city had a proportion of 54%. In Adelaide, people who bought instant coffee in the last 4 weeks were slightly higher than people who went to a cafe, with rates of 50% and 49%, respectively.
In contrast, the proportion of people who purchased fresh coffee in last 4 weeks was relatively lower than people who purchased instant coffee and people who went to a cafe. In Brisbane, the percentage of people who purchased a fresh coffee was the smallest among other rates in all five cities with a percentage of approximately 33%.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response successfully covers the main features of the chart, providing a clear overview and highlighting specific data points across the five Australian cities. For example, the student correctly identifies that going to a cafe was generally more popular than buying fresh or instant coffee, and cites specific figures such as 63% for Hobart and 5% for instant coffee. Comparisons are made between cities, noting Adelaide's rates and Brisbane's lowest percentage for fresh coffee at approximately 33%. While a wider selection of all data points could have been included for a more comprehensive overview, the response satisfactorily addresses the prompt requirements by reporting key trends and making relevant comparisons.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is coherent overall with a logical arrangement of information. It begins with a general overview paragraph, followed by specific city comparisons, and concludes with a contrast regarding fresh coffee purchases. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate ideas. Cohesive devices are employed to guide the reader through the data, such as 'In general', 'while', 'In Adelaide', and 'In contrast'. However, some referencing and linking could be smoother, as certain sentences rely heavily on repetitive phrasing like 'people who went to a cafe' and 'people who bought', which makes the cohesion slightly mechanical in places. Overall, the progression is clear enough to follow easily.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The lexical resource is adequate for the task, successfully conveying survey data using appropriate topic-specific vocabulary such as 'proportion', 'residents', 'fresh and instant coffee', and 'percentage'. The student attempts some less common phrasing, though vocabulary choices are occasionally repetitive, as seen in the repeated use of 'people who went to a cafe' and 'people who bought'. There are minor inaccuracies in word choice or collocation, but these do not impede communication. Spelling and word formation are generally accurate throughout the short text.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms. The student successfully incorporates relative clauses and comparative structures, such as 'the proportion of residents who went to a cafe... was relatively higher than residents who bought...' There are some minor grammatical awkwardnesses, for instance, 'People who went to a cafe in Hobart had a percentage of approximately 63%', where phrasing the data as 'the percentage of people... was approximately 63%' would be more natural. However, grammar and punctuation errors are infrequent and do not impede communication. The majority of sentences are structured correctly.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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