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)
The Bar graph illustrates the results of a survey about percentage coffee and tea buying and drinking habits by the individuals in past four weeks, in various cities of Australia.
In Sydney and Hobart has nearly same percentage of individuals went to cafe for coffee or tea in past 4 weeks. Adelaide has the least percentage of people going to cafe for coffee or tea.
Hobart has the highest percentage of selling instant coffee with almost 55% and Sydney has the lowest percentage of selling instant coffee by public with 45%.
Sydney has the highest percentage of public buying a fresh coffee with nearly 45%. The least percentage of people buying a coffee in Melbourne and Adelaide having similar percentage with almost 34%.
Overall, Many individuals are going to cafe for coffee for the past few weeks when compared to buying a fresh coffee and instant coffee
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The response addresses the task only partially and fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, falling slightly short at 147 words. While the student attempts to report some main features from the chart, such as café visits in Sydney and Hobart or instant coffee percentages, the selection of data is limited and contains inaccuracies. For instance, the claim that 'Sydney and Hobart has nearly same percentage of individuals went to cafe' overlooks Melbourne, which actually had the highest café visitation rate. Furthermore, some comparisons are underdeveloped, and the overview lacks a clear synthesis of the broader trends shown in the visual data. To reach a higher level, the response should cover all categories more comprehensively, ensure all reported figures closely match the data, and strictly adhere to the word count minimum.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
There is some organisation evident in the text, with separate sentences attempting to group different data points, but overall there is no clear progression from start to finish. The response lacks adequate paragraphing, presenting most points in a disconnected manner without a clear logical sequence. Cohesive devices are minimal, repetitive, and at times inaccurate, which disrupts the flow of reading. For example, sentences begin abruptly with little connection to the preceding ideas, making it difficult to follow the relationships between the data points. To improve Coherence and Cohesion, the student should structure the essay into distinct, well-organised paragraphs—such as an introduction, clear body paragraphs grouping related data, and an overview—and make more effective use of transitional phrases to guide the reader through the comparisons.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is limited and minimally adequate for the task. The student relies on basic, repetitive phrasing such as 'percentage of individuals', 'highest percentage', and 'lowest percentage' throughout the response. There are also noticeable lexical errors and awkward word choices, such as 'percentage coffee and tea buying' and 'percentage of selling instant coffee by public', which sound unnatural and can cause some difficulty for the reader. While some basic food and drink terminology is present, there is a lack of less common lexical items or varied paraphrasing of the chart data. To achieve a higher band, the writer needs to incorporate a wider and more precise range of vocabulary, avoiding repetition and using appropriate collocations related to statistical reporting, such as 'proportion', 'consumption', and 'tendency'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writer demonstrates a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying mostly on simple sentences with frequent attempts at complex structures that contain errors. There are several noticeable grammatical mistakes, including subject-verb agreement issues like 'In Sydney and Hobart has nearly same percentage' and missing articles or prepositions such as 'went to cafe' instead of 'went to a café'. Punctuation and sentence boundaries are also handled inconsistently, with awkward phrasing that can occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. To progress to the next level, the student must increase the variety of error-free complex sentence forms, paying closer attention to basic rules of agreement, articles, and prepositions within grammatical patterns.
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