Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The bar chart illustrates the purchase and consumption habits of coffee and tea in five different cities in Australia through a survey over 4 weeks.

Overall, the amount of people went to a cafe for coffee and tea in every cities except for Brisbane are the highest compared to buy fresh and instant coffee. Conversely, people from each cities show the lowest percentage of buying fresh coffee.

People from Sydney, Melbourne and Hobert shows the highest in going to a cafe for coffee or tea with a percentage of 61-62%, whereas Brisbane and Adelaide people's remain below 60%. However, the percentage of buyinng instant coffee ranges from 46% to 54% in every cities. The rate of buying fresh coffee is the lowest at Brisbane and Adelaide with a percentage of 34% for each.

Sydney and Melbourne shows a significant decrease in buying fresh and instant coffee, while Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobert depicts the fall only in buying fresh coffee.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response addresses the task only partially, presenting some key features and comparisons while omitting others and containing inaccuracies regarding the data. For instance, the statement that the amount of people who went to a café in every city except Brisbane is the highest compared to fresh and instant coffee is partially supported, but the data is handled mechanically. Furthermore, the claim that Sydney, Melbourne, and Hobart show a significant decrease in buying fresh and instant coffee misinterprets the chart, which only presents a single snapshot in time over a four-week period rather than trends over time. Ideas are limited and under-developed, and the selection of data lacks a clear focus on the most striking overall differences between the five cities. To reach a higher band, the response must accurately report the figures shown in the visual data without inventing trends, and ensure all main features are fully developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is some organization evident in the division into paragraphs, but the response lacks a clear overall progression. Cohesive devices are sometimes inaccurate or repetitive, such as the frequent use of transition words like 'Conversely' and 'However' which do not always logically link the contrasted points. Referencing can also be unclear, as seen in phrases like 'people from each cities' and 'Adelaide people's remain below 60%'. Paragraphing is attempted, grouping the overview, main body details, and comparative statements, but the internal flow of sentences within paragraphs is disjointed. To achieve a higher level of coherence, the student needs to ensure that cohesive devices are used more naturally and that the logical relationship between sentences and paragraphs is tighter and clearer throughout the text.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate to convey the basic topic of coffee and tea habits. There are noticeable lexical errors and awkward word choices, such as 'amount of people went' instead of 'number of people who went', 'every cities' instead of 'each city' or 'all cities', and 'buyinng' with a spelling error. The student attempts some less common vocabulary related to the task, but these attempts often result in unnatural phrasing, such as 'people's remain below 60%'. These errors occasionally cause some difficulty for the reader. To improve lexical resource, the student should expand their range of vocabulary for describing statistical data and pay closer attention to word forms, spelling, and standard collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response displays a limited range of sentence structures, relying mostly on simple and moderately complex sentences. Attempts at more complex structures are frequently faulty, leading to grammatical errors such as 'the amount of people went' (incorrect relative clause or verb form) and 'Sydney and Melbourne shows a significant decrease' (subject-verb agreement error with plural subjects). There are also persistent errors with prepositions and pluralization, such as 'in every cities' and 'Hobert shows'. These frequent errors in grammar cause some difficulty for the reader. To move up to a higher band, the writer must incorporate a wider variety of complex grammatical structures while maintaining good control over basic agreements, verb forms, and punctuation.

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

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