Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-25

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 presents findings from a survey concerning the coffee and tea consumption and purchasing behaviors of individuals across five Australian cities.

The data reveals distinct trends in beverage preferences, highlighting a prevalent inclination towards instant coffee and café visits, particularly in Melbourne and Hobart.

In Melbourne and Hobart, instant coffee purchasing dominates, with approximately 60% of respondents opting for this option. Conversely, fresh coffee remains the least favored choice across all cities, with percentages ranging from about 25% in Adelaide to nearly 45% in Sydney. This underscores a significant preference for convenience over freshness, as demonstrated by the substantial percentages of individuals purchasing instant coffee in these prominent cities.

With regards to café visits, Sydney and Brisbane emerge as the cities with the highest frequencies, where around 50% and 55% of respondents, respectively, patronize cafés for their coffee and tea needs. These figures starkly contrast with Adelaide, which shows a lower percentage of café-goers, approximately 40%. This trend reveals a consistent pattern amongst the majority of the cities, indicating that while fresh coffee consumption remains low, visiting cafés for beverages is increasingly commonplace.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student has attempted to summarize the main features of the chart, providing a clear overview in the second paragraph. However, there are significant inaccuracies in data reporting. For instance, the student states that in Melbourne and Hobart instant coffee purchasing reaches approximately 60%, whereas the actual figures are 48.5% and 54.5% respectively. Furthermore, fresh coffee figures are misreported (claiming Adelaide is 25% when it is 34.5%, and Sydney is nearly 45% where it is actually 44%). In the final paragraph, café visits for Sydney and Brisbane are stated as around 50% and 55%, whereas Sydney is actually 61% and Brisbane 55.5%. These repeated data discrepancies prevent the response from achieving a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, overview, and body paragraphs dedicated to different aspects of the chart. Cohesive devices such as 'Conversely', 'With regards to', and 'These figures' are used to guide the reader through the comparisons. Paragraphing is logical and appropriate. While the overall arrangement is coherent, referencing is occasionally imprecise due to the underlying factual inaccuracies in the data cited.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

The student demonstrates an adequate and flexible range of vocabulary suited to task 1 requirements, incorporating phrases like 'prevalent inclination', 'undorescores a significant preference', and 'patronize cafés'. Less common items are attempted with some awareness of style, though there are minor inaccuracies in data interpretation. Spelling and word choice are generally accurate and do not impede communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 7.0

The response utilizes a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including participial phrases and relative clauses (e.g., 'indicating that while fresh coffee consumption remains low, visiting cafés for beverages is increasingly commonplace'). Grammar and punctuation are generally well-controlled, with complex structures attempted successfully and only occasional minor slips that do not interfere with readability.

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.