Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-19

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 6.5)

The bar chart compares tea and coffee consumption and purchasing habits of residents in five Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart, catagorized into three distinct behaviors over the last four weeks.

Overall, visiting cafe for coffee or tea was the most popular habit across almost all cities, whereas buying fresh coffee was consistently least favored option in all cities.

Visiting cafe for coffee or tea was the most popular activity in four out of five cities, peaked in Melbourne and Hobart at approximately 63%. Sydney closely followed with around 61%, while Brisbane recorded just under 56%. Adelaide was sole exception, where cafe visits recorded for just under 50%, slightly trailing behind instant coffee purchase.

purchasing of instant coffee was the predominant choice in Adelaide at 50% and showed strong figures in Hobart (almost 54%) and Brisbane (around 53%). Sydney and Melbourne ranked second, selected by only 45% and 48% of residents, respectively.

In contrast, fresh coffee purchase remained least common habit across all cities. Sydney recorded the highest rate for fresh coffee purchases at just around 44%, closely followed by Melbourne at around 42%. Figures were lower in Hobart(around 33%), Brisbane (around 34%) and Adelaide (approx. 35%).

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The student covers all parts of the task well, providing an overview and selecting key features and comparisons across the five Australian cities. The data reported is generally accurate and well-aligned with the visual input. For example, the student correctly notes that visiting a cafe was the most popular activity overall, peaking in Melbourne and Hobart, and that fresh coffee was the least favored option. There is a slight minor slip in data reading where Hobart's fresh coffee is estimated around 33% (actual is around 38.5%), but this does not detract from the overall success of the task. The response is well-developed and meets all Band 7 requirements for Task Achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The response has a clear logical organization and progression throughout. Information is grouped logically by behavior categories across the paragraphs. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as 'Overall', 'whereas', 'In contrast', and 'respectively'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different trends, moving from the overview to cafe visits, instant coffee, and finally fresh coffee purchases. Although occasional minor referencing could be smoother, the overall arrangement is coherent and easy to follow, fitting comfortably into Band 7.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary with some flexibility and precision, employing terms like 'categorized', 'predominant choice', 'consistently', and 'proportion'. There are a few lexical and spelling errors, such as 'catagorized' (categorized), 'visiting cafe' (visiting a cafe), and missing articles ('Adelaide was sole exception', 'purchasing of instant coffee'). However, the vocabulary used is adequate to convey precise trends and comparisons, placing the response solidly at Band 6.5, rounded to 7.0 for successful communication of complex trends.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

A mix of simple and complex sentence structures is used effectively throughout the essay. The student demonstrates good control over subordinate clauses and comparative structures, such as 'whereas buying fresh coffee was consistently least favored option in all cities' and 'Sydney closely followed with around 61%, while Brisbane recorded just under 56%.' There are some minor grammatical errors, primarily missing articles ('visiting cafe', 'Adelaide was sole exception', 'least common habit') and a capitalization error ('catagorized'). However, these errors are infrequent and do not impede communication, supporting a Band 7 score.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.