Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The chart illustrates the results of a survey about people's coffee and tea buying and drinking habits in five Australian cities in the last four weeks.

Overall, the proportion of residents who went to cafes for coffee or tea remained relatively high throughout the period, whereas the proportion of residents who bought fresh coffee in the last 4 weeks was the lowest. In addition, despite some fluctuations, the ratio of individuals who bought instant coffee in the last 4 weeks remained relatively stable.

Looking at the chart, coffees showed the highest proportion of residents, buying coffee or tea in Sydney, accounting for around 62%, and it was much higher in Melbourne and Hobart accounting for around 66% and 64%. However, the proportion of residents was comparatively lower in Brisbane and Adelaide, accounting for only 56% and below 50% in the last 4 weeks.

Furthermore, the proportion of residents who bought instant coffee, gradually increased in the last 4 weeks despite some fluctuations, reaching above 50% in Hobart, while its proportion was slightly lower in Adelaide accounting for only 50%. However, the proportion of residents, buying fresh coffee followed the opposite trend. It was not very popular among residents, like approximately 43% in Melbourne, and it was comparatively lower in Brisbane and Adelaide.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by reporting on the three categories across the five cities, and an overview is provided at the beginning. However, some ideas are under-developed or inaccurately supported by the data. For instance, the overview incorrectly states that buying fresh coffee was the lowest category overall, whereas instant coffee actually held the lowest positions in several cities like Sydney and Melbourne. Furthermore, the selection of data is sometimes vague, such as describing cafe visits as 'coffees' and misinterpreting specific figures like the café attendance in Sydney, which was around 61% rather than the roughly 62% reported. While key trends are identified, the lack of precise data handling and slight confusion in comparisons keeps this section at the current level.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The writing demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a logical separation into an introduction, an overview paragraph, and body paragraphs focusing on different categories. However, the progression is sometimes affected by mechanical or repetitive cohesive devices, such as the frequent use of 'However' and 'Furthermore' at the start of sentences. Additionally, referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in phrases like 'coffees showed the highest proportion of residents, buying coffee or tea', which disrupts the flow of information. Paragraphing is present and generally appropriate, but the internal logical links within paragraphs need to be managed more flexibly to achieve a higher score.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'proportion', 'residents', 'fluctuations', and 'category-specific' descriptions. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, though this is sometimes accompanied by awkward word choice or slight inaccuracies, such as referring to cafe visits as 'coffees' or phrasing like 'the ratio of individuals who bought instant coffee'. Spelling and word formation are generally accurate, and errors do not impede communication, allowing the response to comfortably meet the criteria for this band level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

A mix of simple and complex sentence structures is used throughout the response, including relative clauses and subordinate clauses such as 'whereas the proportion of residents who bought fresh coffee in the last 4 weeks was the lowest.' There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, particularly with intrusive commas that interrupt sentence flow, such as in 'residents, buying coffee or tea in Sydney' and 'residents, buying fresh coffee followed the opposite trend'. Despite these errors, the majority of simple sentences are accurate, and the grammatical mistakes rarely impede communication or cause difficulty for the reader.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.