Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-20

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 compares the outcome of a questionaire related to the beverage consumption habits of residents of Syndney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart in Australia.

Overall, visiting a cafe for tea or coffee is preferred by almost all the residents rather than buying fresh coffee. The percentage of people buying instant coffee kept fluctuating over the month.

Firstly, Melbourne, Hobart and Sydney have the highest percentages of cafe visitors for drinking tea or coffee with a registered 64%, 63% and 61% respectively. Followed by Brisbane with comparatively lower visitors to a cafe marking 56%. At last the least percentage of only 49% people consuming coffee in a cafe are noted to be in Adelaide.

Second category is people who consume instant coffee, Hobart has the largest percentage follwed by residents of Brisbane portraying 54% and 53% respectively. Adelaide has comparatively lower percentage of 50% then prioe mentioned cities. Percentages of Melbourne and Sydney is the lowest in the instant coffee consuming category with only 48% and 46% respectively.

The least prominent category consuming fresh coffee comes under 45% in all the cities. Sydney and Melbourne almost have the same percentage of 44 to 43 with 1% if variation. Hobart has 37% of fresh coffee consumers. Adelaide and Brisbane have the least percentage of 34% and 33%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the chart across the five Australian cities. An overview is attempted, noting that visiting a café is generally preferred over buying fresh coffee, though it mischaracterises the instant coffee trend over time (as the chart shows data for a single four-week period, not a progression over multiple months). Key data points and comparisons are provided, such as identifying Melbourne, Hobart, and Sydney as having the highest percentage of café visitors, and accurately highlighting Adelaide's lower figures. However, some data points contain minor inaccuracies compared to the raw data (e.g., stating Adelaide's café figure is 49% when it is closer to 49.5%, or rounding fresh coffee figures loosely). Despite these minor misreadings and the slight flaw in the overview interpretation, the key features and comparisons are generally well-covered, aligning with Band 6.5 to 7.0 criteria.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is logically organised and easy to follow, featuring an introductory paragraph, an overview paragraph, and three body paragraphs dedicated to specific categories (café visits, instant coffee, and fresh coffee). Paragraphing is used appropriately to group related ideas. Cohesive devices are employed to signal transitions, such as 'Overall', 'Firstly', and 'Second category'. However, some cohesive links and referencing are slightly mechanical or awkward, such as 'At last the least percentage' and 'then prioe mentioned cities' (prior mentioned). Furthermore, the progression within paragraphs occasionally feels a bit disjointed due to the listing format. Overall, the structural framework is clear and coherent, satisfying the requirements for Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms like 'beverage consumption', 'residents', 'percentages', and 'category'. However, there are several spelling and word-choice errors that detract from precision, such as 'questionaire' (questionnaire), 'Syndney' (Sydney), 'follwed' (followed), and 'prioe' (prior). Additionally, phrasing like 'least percentage' is imprecise; 'lowest percentage' would be more appropriate. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the main points clearly, the presence of these recurring spelling and lexical errors places the response firmly within the Band 6.0 descriptor.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including relative clauses and participial phrases (e.g., 'people who consume instant coffee', 'with a registered 64%'). However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several sentence fragments and awkward structures, such as 'Followed by Brisbane with comparatively lower visitors to a cafe marking 56%' and 'The least prominent category consuming fresh coffee comes under 45% in all the cities.' Subject-verb agreement and prepositional use also show lapses, as seen in 'Percentages of Melbourne and Sydney is the lowest'. These recurring errors can cause occasional minor strain for the reader, though they do not impede overall communication, warranting a Band 6.0 score.

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

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