Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)
The chart illustrates the results of a survey about people’s coffee and tea buying and drinking habits in five different Australian cities. There are five different stages that show the the people bought coffee in last 4 weeks.
In the first stage, Sydney people buy the fresh coffee about 44 percent, but the people buy instant coffee at 46 percent and more people went to a cafe for coffee or tea in last four weeks, For the second stage, Melbourne people brought the minor drop in the fresh coffee, but
the other two categories fell and vice versa. In the third stage, Brisbane people bought coffee at 34 percent, but the instant coffee at the 54 percent, people went to a cafe for coffee or tea 56 percent, the next stage, Adelaide people bought the fresh coffee is about 34 percent but other two are minor decline. Finally, The Hobart city people bought fresh coffee about 38 percent, and the instant coffee about the 54 percent, and went to a cafe for coffee or tea is around 63 percent.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response attempts to summarize the chart showing coffee and tea buying and drinking habits in five Australian cities, but it struggles with accurate data reporting and fails to provide a clear, coherent overview of the main features or significant comparisons. Instead of synthesizing the information logically, the writer lists data points city by city, referring to them confusingly as 'stages' (e.g., 'In the first stage, Sydney people buy the fresh coffee about 44 percent...'). Key comparisons between the cities or across the three categories (fresh coffee, instant coffee, and visiting a cafe) are largely missed or poorly articulated. This puts the performance at a Band 5 level, as it addresses the task only partially with limited and under-developed reporting of the key data.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The organization of the response is weak. The text is essentially split into only two paragraphs, with the second being a massive run-on block of text that attempts to squeeze all five cities into a single long sentence structure. Cohesive devices are either missing, repetitive, or inaccurate, heavily relying on crude connectors like 'In the first stage', 'For the second stage', and 'Finally'. There is no clear logical progression or smooth referencing between ideas, which makes following the data reporting extremely difficult for the reader. Paragraphing is not used sufficiently or appropriately to separate distinct cities or categories. These issues reflect the characteristics of a Band 4.5 to 5.0, prompting a band score of 5.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive. Throughout the text, the writer repeatedly relies on rudimentary verbs and phrases such as 'buy', 'bought', 'people', and 'coffee'. There are noticeable awkward word choices and unnatural collocations, such as 'Melbourne people brought the minor drop' (instead of 'experienced a minor drop') and 'Adelaide people bought the fresh coffee is about 34 percent'. Less common vocabulary is virtually absent, and spelling or word-form inaccuracies occur. Although the vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the basic subject matter, it severely limits precision and flexibility, fitting the Band 5 descriptor.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
Grammatically, the response is heavily flawed by a lack of control over sentence structure and punctuation. The text is plagued by run-on sentences, comma splices, and faulty clause integration—exemplified in the endless second paragraph which strings multiple clauses together with commas rather than proper conjunctions or full stops. There are frequent errors in verb tense and agreement, such as mixing present and past tenses ('Sydney people buy... but the people buy instant coffee... and more people went') and structural confusions like 'bought the fresh coffee is about 34 percent'. While simple sentences are occasionally handled, complex structures are attempted with frequent errors that cause difficulty and strain for the reader. This corresponds to a Band 5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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