Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-21
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 displays the results of a survery conducted in five different Australian urban areas about people's purchasing and consumption habits for hot drinks.
Overall, it can clearly be seen that visiting a cafe for coffee and tea was the most popular activity in majority of cities, with exception of Adelaide where buying instant coffee ranked highest. Across all five Australian cities, went to a cafe for fresh coffee in last 4 weeks is the least preferred option.
Turning first to, in Sydney, Melbourne, and Hobart purchasing coffee in cafe was the most common behaviour, chosen by over 50% of residents- Peaking in Sydney and Melbourne at approximately 56% and 55% respectively, followed by Hobart at, 53%. Moreover, buying fresh coffee was the least favourite hobby in all cities, where Sydney significantly highest category at, 44%. Melbourne made up 43% while, the new coffee purchasing rate is slightly reduced 38%. In addition, Brisbane and Adelaide almost maintained the same level at, 34% and 33%.
Turning to the remaining categories, people who bought instant coffee showed popularity in almost all surveyed locations, particularly in Hobart and Brisbane where it accounted for roughly 53% and 51% of city residents respectively. Furthermore, consumption of instant hot drink in Adelaide constituted 50%. However the category in Melbourne was greater than Sydney which was 47%.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The student attempts to cover the main features of the chart, providing a general overview and selecting some data points for comparison. However, there are notable data reading and transcription errors that impact accuracy. For example, the student writes that café visits were highest at '56% and 55%', whereas the actual figures on the chart are around 61% and 63.5%. Furthermore, the description contains some confusion regarding categories, stating that 'buying fresh coffee was the least favourite hobby' when the chart shows café visits were actually the highest overall in most cities, and instant coffee had higher participation than fresh coffee in places like Brisbane and Adelaide. Due to these inaccurate data citations and minor misinterpretations of the visual information, the response falls into Band 5.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is organized into paragraphs with an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs dedicated to different categories. Cohesive devices are used to guide the reader (e.g., 'Overall', 'Turning first to', 'In addition'), though some transitions feel a bit mechanical or awkward, such as 'Turning first to, in Sydney...'. Paragraphing is generally logical, separating the café category from the fresh and instant coffee data. However, referencing is sometimes unclear or clumsy, and the flow is occasionally disrupted by awkward phrasing. Overall, the organizational structure is adequate to earn a Band 6.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common collocations and topic-related terms such as 'purchasing and consumption habits', 'urban areas', and 'participation'. However, there are several spelling errors ('survery' instead of survey) and lexical inaccuracies or awkward word choices, such as calling a coffee-buying preference a 'hobby' or stating 'the new coffee purchasing rate' (likely meant net or fresh). Word formation issues also appear, such as 'went to a cafe for fresh coffee in last 4 weeks is the least preferred option' (grammatical/lexical mismatch). These errors indicate a Band 5 or 6 range, but the lexical range is sufficient for a Band 6.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including relative clauses and comparative constructions. However, grammatical accuracy is noticeably weak. There are frequent errors in verb forms, sentence construction, and punctuation. For instance, the sentence 'Across all five Australian cities, went to a cafe for fresh coffee in last 4 weeks is the least preferred option' lacks a proper subject clause and mixes tense/verb forms. Another error is found in 'where Sydney significantly highest category at, 44%', which lacks a verb. Punctuation errors, such as intrusive commas before numbers (e.g., 'at, 44%'), are also persistent. These frequent errors occasionally impede smooth reading, justifying a Band 5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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