Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-17
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 chart illustrates the consequences of the analysis about people who have habit of buying and drinking tea and coffee in five Australian cities.
Overall, people lived in Melbourne, Hobart and Sydney went to a cafe regularly as compared to Brisbane and Adelaide. However, Hobart showed highest percentage of residents who bought instant coffee in last four weeks among other cities. Moreover, Sydney reported highest number of people who bought fresh coffee among other cities.
In Sydney, around 61% people went to a cafe for coffee and tea and 43% residents bought fresh coffee and 45% people liked to bought instant coffee. Melbourne showed highest number of residents who went to a cafe as compared to other cities and around 47% people bought instant coffee and 42% residenrs bought fresh coffee. The number of people decreased to about 55% in Brisbane who went to a cafe and the number of people raised to approximately 54% who bought instant coffee but percentage of people declined who bought fresh coffe among other cities.
In Hobart, around 62% people went to a cafe showed slight decrease. But, it showed highest percentage of residents who bought instant coffee. Only 39% people bought fresh coffee. 50% people bought intant coffee in Adelaide and 54% people went to cafe but it showed lowest number of people who bought fresh coffee among other cities.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student attempts to address the task by summarizing information from the chart regarding coffee and tea habits across five Australian cities. An overview is provided, and some main features and comparisons are made, such as noting that Melbourne, Hobart, and Sydney residents visited cafés more frequently, while Hobart recorded the highest percentage for buying instant coffee. However, the response contains several inaccuracies and contradictory data points when compared to the visual data. For instance, the writer states that Hobart showed a slight decrease in cafe visits (62%), whereas the chart shows Hobart at 63%. Furthermore, the data cited for Adelaide regarding fresh and instant coffee contains confusion. While the overview and general trends are partially present, the lack of precise data reporting and minor inaccuracies limit the score to a Band 5.5.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is organized into four paragraphs, including an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs discussing specific cities. There is an attempt at logical sequencing, but the progression within paragraphs feels somewhat disjointed due to awkward transitions and repetitive sentence structures (e.g., repeatedly starting sentences with 'In Sydney...', 'Melbourne showed...', 'In Hobart...'). Cohesive devices are used, but they are occasionally mechanical or inaccurate, such as 'However, Hobart showed highest percentage...' missing articles, and 'But, it showed highest percentage...' starting a sentence with a conjunction inappropriately. Paragraphing is present, but grouping cities together could have been handled more systematically. Overall arrangement is coherent enough to follow, supporting a Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the student to communicate basic trends and percentages. However, the range is limited and repetitive, with frequent reliance on basic verbs and nouns like 'people', 'showed', 'bought', and 'number'. There are also noticeable lexical errors and awkward collocations, such as 'people lived in Melbourne' instead of 'people living in', 'liked to bought instant coffee' instead of 'liked to buy', and 'residenrs' (spelling error). Less common lexical items are attempted with some inaccuracy. While communication is not severely impeded, the frequency of word-form errors and restricted vocabulary range place this in the Band 5.0 range.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though complex structures are frequently marred by grammatical errors. Examples of errors include missing articles ('people lived in Hobart and Sydney went to a cafe', 'highest percentage'), incorrect verb forms ('liked to bought', 'number of people raised'), and preposition errors. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but sentence boundaries and clause linking can be clumsy. The frequency of grammatical inaccuracies in both basic and complex structures causes some difficulty for the reader and prevents the writing from achieving a higher band, making Band 5.0 an appropriate evaluation.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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