Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-01
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)
Above chart demonstrates coffee and tea buying and drinking habits in five cities in Australia. Sydney has the highest ratio approximately 44% for buying fresh coffee, Melbourne being 2nd at 43%, Hobart ranking 3rd at about 37%, Adelaide and Beisbane being last at about 34% and 33% respectively. Cities ranking top to bottom for buying instant coffee were: Hobart at 54%, Brisbane at 53%, Adelaide at 50%, Melbourne at 48% and lastly Sydney at 46%. Cities ranking top to bottom for visiting cafe for fresh Coffe and tea are ranked top to bottom as: Melbourne (64%), Hobart (63%), Sydney (62%), Brisbane (56%)and Adelaide (49%). This comparison graph highlights that most of the people in Australia love to have fresh coffee and tea at cafe and hangout with frends and families.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The response only partially addresses the task requirements and fails to reach the minimum word count of 150 words, stopping at 130 words. While the candidate attempts to report data across the three categories for the five cities, the selection of information is mechanical, relying heavily on listing percentages in order without adequate synthesis or meaningful overall comparison. The overview provided at the end is overly simplistic and assumes intent beyond what is shown in the chart. To move to a higher band, the writer must expand the response past the word limit, select key features more discerningly, and provide a clearer, more accurate summary of the main trends.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The writing shows some basic organisation, presenting data city by city and category by category, but there is no clear overall progression or paragraphing. The entire response is written as a single block of text, which makes the progression harder to follow. Furthermore, cohesive devices are largely absent or repetitive, with phrases like 'ranking top to bottom' reused mechanically. Referencing is sometimes unclear, and the lack of paragraph breaks hinders the logical flow of the report. To improve, the writer needs to structure the response into logical paragraphs—such as an introduction, overview, and grouped body paragraphs—and use a wider range of cohesive ties to link ideas smoothly.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate for the task, featuring basic terms such as 'highest ratio', 'buying fresh coffee', and 'visiting cafe'. There are notable spelling and word choice errors, such as 'Beisbane' instead of Brisbane, 'Coffe' instead of coffee, and 'frends' instead of friends. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary, but these attempts are often accompanied by inaccuracies in collocation or word form. To achieve a higher band, the candidate must expand their lexical range to include more precise academic vocabulary, reduce spelling mistakes, and ensure more natural phrasing when describing statistical data.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response displays a very limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on simple lists and repetitive clauses like 'Cities ranking top to bottom for...'. There are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, particularly missing articles ('Above chart demonstrates', 'visiting cafe'), missing prepositions, and awkward punctuation choices. Attempts at complex structures are often faulty or incomplete. To progress, the writer needs to incorporate a wider variety of complex sentence forms, pay closer attention to articles and prepositions, and ensure that sentences are punctuated correctly to enhance overall readability.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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