Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)
The bar chart illustrates the outcome of a survey about coffee & tea buying and drinking habits of individuals in five cities in Australia.
People who bought fresh coffee in last four weeks mark as the lowest compared to the other two options. Sydney is at the top in that category, while Brisbane is the lowest among the selected cities considered as the lowest which is under 35%, however residents who went to a cafe for coffee or tea in during the same period notice as the highest option. In Melbourne, it is overall highest with around 65%. Hobart marked as a second highest.
Instant coffee considered as an average. In Hobart, it is at a peak point with more than 50%. It is almost a half in Adelaide. Melbourne marked as a second lowest in given five cities, and Sydney marked as the lowest, which is around 45 percent.
Overall, cafe visits for coffee or tea marked as topmost and drinking habits of fresh coffee contribute the least percent.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 4.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.5 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The student attempts to cover the main features of the chart, noting the general trends across the three categories: fresh coffee, instant coffee, and café visits. However, the summary suffers from considerable imprecision and some confused reporting of the data. For instance, stating that 'Melbourne, it is overall highest with around 65%' for café visits is partially accurate (Melbourne is indeed high at 63.5%, but Hobart is also very close at 63%), and describing instant coffee as 'almost a half in Adelaide' when the actual figure is 50% is misleading. Furthermore, the phrasing is often clumsy, such as 'People who bought fresh coffee in last four weeks mark as the lowest'. While an overview is present at the end, the task is addressed only partially due to vague descriptions, imprecise data reporting, and a lack of clear, well-supported comparisons between the cities.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The response is structured into four short paragraphs, attempting an introduction, body paragraphs categorized by the coffee habits, and a brief concluding overview. However, progression is frequently disjointed and difficult to follow due to poor organizational logic. For example, the second paragraph mixes fresh coffee and café visits somewhat haphazardly ('however residents who went to a cafe... notice as the highest option'). Cohesive devices are minimal, repetitive, and often misused or awkward, such as 'In Hobart, it is at a peak point' and 'Instant coffee considered as an average.' Paragraphing is attempted, but internal cohesion within the paragraphs is weak, resulting in an overall arrangement that lacks clear logical progression.
Lexical Resource: Band 4.5
The vocabulary used is basic, repetitive, and heavily relies on lifting terms directly from the prompt (e.g., 'coffee and tea buying and drinking habits', 'five cities in Australia'). There are frequent awkward word choices and unnatural collocations, such as 'mark as the lowest', 'notice as the highest option', and 'Instant coffee considered as an average.' The range of vocabulary is strictly limited and inadequate for flexible or precise expression, occasionally causing confusion for the reader (e.g., 'it is almost a half'). Spelling is generally accurate, but the lexical resource fails to reach the threshold for Band 6 due to the lack of successful attempts at less common vocabulary.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5
The response displays a very limited range of grammatical structures. Most sentences are simple or poorly constructed attempts at complex forms that suffer from severe structural omissions (e.g., missing auxiliary verbs and prepositions, as in 'People who bought fresh coffee in last four weeks mark as the lowest' and 'Hobart marked as a second highest'). Passive voice constructions are systematically mishandled ('mark as', 'notice as'). Frequent grammatical errors cause difficulty and strain for the reader, meaning the writing falls short of the Band 6 descriptor where simple and complex structures are mixed with occasional errors.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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