Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-28
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 given bar graph illustrates the information about the percentage of research outcomes about people's who bought fresh coffee, purchased instant coffee, or went to a cafe for coffee or tea during the previous four weeks in five Australian cities.
Overall, it is apparent that visited a cafe for coffee or tea was the most popular activity in most cities, while fresh coffee purchased generally in small proportion. Melbourne and Hobart recorded highest figures for cafe visits.
In Sydney, around 44% residents bought fresh coffee, compared with approximately 46% who purchased instant coffee and 62% who visited a cafe. Melbourne showed a similar pattern, with figures of about 43%, 47% and 63% , respectively. In Brisbane, fresh coffee purchased considerably lower , at roughly 34%, whereas instant coffee and visited cafe stood at 53% and 56%.
Adelaide recorded around 34% for fresh coffee and 50% for instant coffee, while cafe visits also close to 50%. Followed by in Hobart, instant coffee purchased approximately 39% and 54% bought fresh coffee. However, cafe visits were considerably higher, at about 63%.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response covers all parts of the task well by identifying the main features and making relevant comparisons across the five Australian cities. The overview captures the general trends successfully, noting that visiting a café was the most popular activity overall while fresh coffee was bought in smaller proportions. However, there are some data inaccuracies and misreadings in the body paragraphs. For instance, the student states that in Hobart 'instant coffee purchased approximately 39% and 54% bought fresh coffee', which mixes up the data categories and reverses the actual figures (instant coffee was around 54.5% and fresh coffee was 38.5%). Additionally, the sentence structure for Hobart's fresh coffee is incomplete. Despite these inaccuracies, the student successfully selects key data points and contrasts them across cities, satisfying the requirements for a Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response is arranged coherently with a clear overall progression. The essay begins with an introductory paraphrase, followed by an overview paragraph, and then detailed city-by-city comparisons in the body paragraphs. Cohesive devices are used to connect ideas, such as 'Overall', 'In Sydney', 'Melbourne showed a similar pattern', and 'However'. However, some cohesive links and referencing are faulty or mechanically applied, particularly in the final paragraph where the transition 'Followed by in Hobart, instant coffee purchased approximately 39% and 54% bought fresh coffee' is grammatically disjointed and difficult to follow. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, overview, and body details, earning a solid Band 6.5 for logical structure and organisation.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'illustrates', 'percentage', 'proportion', and 'pattern'. Less common vocabulary is attempted, including 'research outcomes', though this phrase is used unnaturally in the introduction. There are several word choice and collocation errors throughout the text, such as 'people's who bought', 'fresh coffee purchased generally in small proportion', and 'visited a cafe' instead of visiting a café. While these errors do not severely impede communication, they reflect typical Band 6 limitations in lexical precision, word formation, and collocation control.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting comparative structures like 'around 44% residents bought fresh coffee, compared with approximately 46% who purchased...'. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in verb forms, voice, and sentence completeness, such as 'it is apparent that visited a cafe', 'fresh coffee purchased considerably lower', 'instant coffee and visited cafe stood at', and 'Followed by in Hobart, instant coffee purchased approximately 39%...'. These errors occasionally cause difficulty for the reader and demonstrate that control over complex structures is still developing. This performance aligns well with the Band 5.5 descriptors.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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