Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-14
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 illustrate the percentage of residents in five Australian cities who bought fresh coffee, purchased instant cofee or visited a cafe for coffee or tea the previous four weeks.
Overall visited cafe for coffee or tea was the most popular activitiy in most cities, While buying fresh coffee was the least popular. Melbourne had the highest percentage of cafe visitors, whereas Hobart had the highest percentage of instant coffee buyers.
In Sydney Approximately around 44% of residents bought fresh coffee, compared with 46% people purchased instant coffee. However 62% people of residents visited cafe for coffee or tea. In Melbourne around 43% people buying fresh coffee compared with approximately 49% people purchased instant coffee, Whereas approximately 64% percentage of residents people visited to a cafe for coffee or tea.
In Brisbane around 34% people buying fresh coffee as compared with almost 53% purchased instant coffee, While 56% people visited to a cafe for coffee or tea. In Adelaide around 34% people buying fresh coffee as compared with 50% people purchased instant coffee, However Almost 49% people went to a cafe for cofee or tea. In Hobart around 33% people bought fresh and almost 54% bought instant coffee while approximately 63% of people residents visited to a cafe for coffee or tea.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The student successfully highlights the main features and makes relevant comparisons across the five Australian cities. The overview effectively captures the primary trend that visiting a cafe was the most popular activity while buying fresh coffee was generally the least popular. Key details, such as the percentages for Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Hobart, are reported. However, there is a tendency to list too many raw figures mechanically without fully synthesizing the data into deeper comparisons, which places this response securely at Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The response is organized with a clear overall structure, featuring an introduction, an overview paragraph, and body paragraphs detailing the city data. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Overall', 'while', 'whereas', and 'However'. However, paragraphing is somewhat problematic as the final paragraph merges data for multiple cities into one dense block of text rather than grouping them logically. Referencing and transitional phrasing can also feel repetitive and mechanical, leading to a Band 6.0 score.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary for the task, successfully utilizing terms related to the prompt such as 'percentage', 'residents', 'bought fresh coffee', and 'visited a cafe'. There are several noticeable spelling and word choice errors, such as 'coffe' and 'activitiy', along with awkward phrasing like 'visited to a cafe'. The range is sufficient for communication, but vocabulary is basic and repetitive, fitting the Band 5.0 descriptors.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing comparative structures like 'compared with' and 'whereas'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly missing verbs and incorrect verb forms in participial phrases (e.g., 'people buying fresh coffee', 'residents people visited to a cafe'), as well as punctuation and capitalization slips. These errors occasionally cause slight confusion for the reader, aligning with Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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