Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-18
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 the results on survey on coffee and tea buying and drinking habits in five australian cities during the previous four weeks.
Overall, going to a café for coffee or tea is considered the most popular amoung all cities, however, buying fresh coffee is considered the least. Melbourne experienced the largest proportion of visitors for coffee or tea, while Hobart experienced the highest proportion of instant coffee.
Going to café to get coffee or tea is the highest proportion among residents in all five cities. The result of the last month shown that Melbourne is most popular among five cities with approximately 64%, this closely to Hobart and Sydney which they got 63% and 61%, however, Brisbane and Adelaide are less populated with 56% and 59%, respectively.
Purshing instant coffee was common in Hobart with 54%, a two percente than Brisbane 52%, and four percent more than Adelaide (50%), whereas, Sydney and Melbourne were the lowest by 47% and 45% respectively. In contrast, fresh coffee is less populated, where Sydney recorded 43% which is the highest apon other cities. Melbou
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 response covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the chart and making relevant comparisons across the five Australian cities. An overview is provided, highlighting the main trends such as the popularity of visiting a café and the lower uptake of fresh coffee. Key data points are cited, such as Melbourne leading in café visits (approx. 64%) and Hobart recording the highest figure for instant coffee (54%). However, there are some minor data inaccuracies and awkward expressions, such as stating Adelaide's café figure as '59%' when it is actually around 49.5%, and the text cuts off abruptly at the end ('Melbou...'), leaving the final comparison incomplete. This places the response firmly in Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is generally coherent with an overall logical arrangement, though paragraphing is somewhat disjointed and the text cuts off prematurely. The writer attempts to group information by category (café visits, instant coffee, fresh coffee). Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Overall', 'whereas', and 'In contrast', but referencing is occasionally imprecise or mechanical ('this closely to Hobart'). Paragraphing needs better structure to separate the introduction, overview, and distinct body paragraphs effectively. Progression is sometimes hindered by sudden shifts in focus and the incomplete ending, aligning well with Band 6.0 descriptors.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, attempting some less common collocations and lexical items such as 'proportion', 'residents', and 'popular'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text, including 'amoung' instead of 'among', 'Purshing' instead of 'Purchasing', and using 'populated' to describe percentages rather than people ('less populated with 56%'). Additionally, word formation errors like 'percente' occur. These errors do not completely impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score to Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses ('which they got') and comparative structures. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several structural and prepositional errors, such as 'results on survey', 'Going to café' (missing article), 'The result of the last month shown', and 'which is the highest apon other cities'. Furthermore, the response trails off mid-sentence at the very end. The frequency of grammatical errors means that simple sentences are often more reliable than complex attempts, supporting a Band 5.5 score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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