Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · 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 7.5)

The bar chart illustrates coffee and tea buying and drinking habits among residents of five Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart.

Overall, going to a café for coffee or tea was the most popular habit in most cities, while buying fresh coffee was the least common. In addition, the proportion of people who purchased instant coffee was higher than that of those who bought fresh coffee in all five cities.

The percentage of residents who went to a café was highest in Melbourne and Hobart, at approximately 64% and 63%, respectively. Sydney followed at around 61%, while the figures for Brisbane and Adelaide were lower, at about 55% and 50%. Adelaide was the only city where slightly more people bought instant coffee than visited a café.

In contrast, fresh coffee was less popular across all five cities. Sydney and Melbourne had the highest proportions of people buying fresh coffee, at approximately 44% and 43%, respectively, while Hobart stood at around 39%. The figures were even lower in Adelaide and Brisbane, at approximately 35% and 34%. Meanwhile, instant coffee purchases ranged from about 46% in Sydney to 54% in Hobart.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

The student provides a clear overview of the main trends in the bar chart, accurately identifying that visiting a café was the most popular habit overall and that instant coffee surpassed fresh coffee in all five Australian cities. Key data points and comparisons are effectively selected and reported, such as Melbourne and Hobart having the highest percentages of café-goers at approximately 64% and 63% respectively, and Adelaide being the sole exception where instant coffee buying slightly exceeded café visits. All parts of the prompt are fully and appropriately addressed without omitting significant information. The response achieves a strong Band 8 level for Task Achievement by presenting a well-developed and accurate summary of the visual data.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The response demonstrates a clear logical organization with a well-structured progression of ideas from an introduction to an overall summary, followed by body paragraphs detailing specific categories. Paragraphing is used effectively, with each paragraph focusing on a distinct aspect of the chart data. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'In addition', 'while', and 'In contrast' are managed well to link sentences and ideas smoothly, ensuring the text is easy to follow. Referencing is clear throughout, and overall cohesion supports the reader's understanding without any obtrusiveness, fully aligning with Band 8 standards.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The student uses a sufficient and natural range of vocabulary appropriate for an academic task, including terms like 'proportion', 'residents', 'exceeded', and 'ranges from'. There is successful deployment of less common lexical items and accurate collocations such as 'fresh coffee' and 'instant coffee purchases'. Although the vocabulary is functional and precise rather than exceptionally sophisticated, word choices are accurate and communicate the statistical information effectively. There are no notable spelling or lexical errors, justifying a solid Band 7 rating.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.5

The writer displays good control over a variety of sentence structures, successfully integrating both simple and complex forms. Examples include relative clauses and comparative structures like 'the proportion of people who purchased instant coffee was higher than that of those who bought fresh coffee'. The majority of sentences are error-free, and punctuation is handled correctly throughout the text. Minor inaccuracies are virtually absent, showing a high level of grammatical control that easily meets the criteria for a Band 8 performance.

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