Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-27

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 4.0)

the bar chart illustrates the proportion of how many individuals like to buy coffee and tea regularly from cafe in five different cities in Australia

Overall, melbourne covers the largest porpotion of coffee and tea buyers while followed by Hobart and Sydeny slightly behind it meanwhile Adelaide residents purchase lower coffee like others

Melbourne and Hobart have almost equal amount of buyers for coffee around 64% but horbart marginaly down but sydeny also experinced a huge number of buyers its reach above 60% althrough

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The response falls significantly short of the 150-word minimum, containing only 84 words. As a result, the task is only partially addressed, leading to an automatic penalty under Task Achievement. Although the writer attempts to introduce the chart and mention a few data points (such as Melbourne and Hobart having buyers for coffee around 64%), the summary is extremely incomplete. Key categories like fresh and instant coffee are barely touched upon, and the data is misread in places (the 64% figure actually refers to café visits, not overall coffee buying). To achieve a higher band, the student must write at least 150 words, provide a clear overview of all main trends across the categories, and report the data accurately without omissions.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

The text is divided into an introduction and a single, overly long second paragraph, lacking proper structural division. Logical progression is severely hindered by run-on sentences and a lack of clear cohesive devices. Transition words like 'meanwhile' and 'althrough' are used incorrectly or mechanically, failing to guide the reader through the comparisons. Pronoun referencing is also weak, making it difficult to follow which city or category is being discussed. To improve, the writer needs to organise the response into logical paragraphs (introduction, overview, and specific detail paragraphs) and use a wider variety of accurate cohesive devices.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive. The student relies on simple words like 'buy', 'coffee', and 'cities', and attempts less common vocabulary result in frequent errors and inappropriate word choices, such as 'porpotion', 'horbart', and 'marginaly down'. Furthermore, there are issues with collocation and lexical precision, such as 'purchase lower coffee like others'. While the meaning can sometimes be guessed, the restricted range and persistent spelling errors constrain the response significantly. To improve, the student should learn and accurately apply topic-specific vocabulary related to data trends and consumer habits.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.0

The grammatical range is extremely limited, consisting mostly of poorly structured run-on sentences joined improperly by conjunctions. There is a complete lack of punctuation, with no periods to separate thoughts, making the entire response read as a single, confusing sentence in places. Frequent errors in verb tense, agreement, and sentence boundaries—such as 'how many individuals like to buy' and 'its reach above 60% althrough'—impede communication and cause severe strain for the reader. To improve, the student must focus on basic sentence construction, ensuring every sentence has a clear subject, verb, and appropriate terminal punctuation.

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

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