Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-02

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 chart compares the percentages of people in five Australian cities, who bought fresh coffee, instant coffee and went to a cafe' in the previous four weeks.

Overall, going to a cafe' was the most popular activity in four of the five countries and purchasing fresh coffee was the least common choice among all the cities. In additon, buying instant coffee was generally higher in the previous four weeks.

The attendance of cafe in Melbourne was around 64% and Sydeny followed closely at 61%. Meanwhile, figures for Brisbane and Hobart was approximately 55% and 63%, respectively. Adelaide recorded lower than that, at 49%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The response sits at this band because it only partially addresses the task requirements and fails to meet the minimum length requirement of 150 words, stopping abruptly after just 104 words. While the writer attempts an overview and references some data points from the bar chart, the information is incomplete and lacks adequate detail across all categories. Furthermore, there is a minor conceptual error in the overview where the writer mistakenly refers to the five Australian cities as 'countries'. To move up, the response must cover all categories fully, provide a more robust summary of the main features, and ensure the word count requirement is thoroughly satisfied.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response shows some logical organisation, beginning with an introduction, moving to an overview, and providing specific data points in a final body paragraph. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'In additon', and 'Meanwhile' are used to attempt transitions between ideas, though referencing is occasionally imprecise. Paragraphing is present, but the text is far too brief to demonstrate fully developed progression. To reach a higher band, the writer needs to establish a clearer overall progression of ideas, ensure cohesive devices are managed more naturally, and expand the content into a fully realised essay structure with proper paragraph development.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is minimally adequate for the task, with attempts at topic-related terms such as 'percentages', 'activity', and 'purchasing'. However, there are notable spelling errors, such as 'additon' instead of addition and the misuse of apostrophes in 'cafe'', alongside a factual slip referring to cities as 'countries'. The range of vocabulary remains somewhat limited and repetitive. To achieve a higher score, the writer should employ a wider and more precise range of vocabulary, use less common lexical items with greater awareness of collocation, and eliminate basic spelling mistakes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a limited range of sentence structures, mixing simple forms with a few basic complex attempts. There are noticeable grammatical inaccuracies, such as subject-verb agreement issues in 'figures for Brisbane and Hobart was', alongside punctuation errors with commas and apostrophes. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently relative to the short length of the text. To improve, the writer needs to incorporate a wider variety of complex grammatical structures with a higher proportion of error-free sentences, paying closer attention to subject-verb agreement and punctuation.

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

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