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 chat compare the reports of a survey about consumer's buying different beverages such as coffee, and in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart.

Overall, the indivisuals went to cafe for drinking coffee in last four weeks recorded the highest percentage in Melbourne and Hobar, followed by Sydney. Instant coffee buying stayed normal. While, the lowest rate was recorded for buying fresh coffee in Brisbane and Adelaide.

Firstly, in five out of three cities ranked the highest going into a cafee. Melbourne and Hobart recorded almost the same percentage ( 64% and 73%). The rate of Sydney was 62%. While, for taking instant coffee, Hobart take the lead (54%) from Melbourne (48%), followed by Sydney at 45%. Whereas, these three cities bought the least fresh coffee in a month recorded at 44%, 43% and 38%.

Regarding Brisbane and Adelaide, the most drnking habit was accounted for having a coffee or tea in cafe, at 55%, next came at 49%. While, the figure recorded for instant coffee or tea was 53% and 50%. The lowest proportion accounted for buying fresh beverages 34% in both cities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response attempts to address all parts of the task by mentioning the three habits across the five cities, but the coverage is partial and lacks clarity. For instance, the opening sentence has typos ('bar chat') and misinterprets the prompt by writing 'such as coffee, and in Sydney...' leaving out key elements. While an overview is attempted, it is vague and contains inaccurate references, such as 'Melbourne and Hobar' having the highest percentage for going to a café, whereas the data shows Hobart at 63% and Melbourne at 63.5%, while Sydney was actually 61%. Furthermore, the body paragraphs struggle to accurately report and compare the data, leading to under-developed and confusing ideas. For example, stating that 'three cities bought the least fresh coffee in a month recorded at 44%, 43% and 38%' confuses percentages with rankings, and the numbers cited do not align correctly with the data provided. To improve, you should carefully select the key trends without misreading the figures and ensure your overview clearly outlines the main differences and similarities between the categories.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some organisation in the essay, with an introduction, body paragraphs, and an attempted overview, but the overall progression lacks clarity and logical flow. Cohesive devices are frequently misused, repetitive, or inadequate. For instance, transitional phrases like 'Firstly,' and 'Regarding Brisbane and Adelaide,' are used, but the internal connections within sentences and paragraphs often break down, making the relationships between ideas difficult to follow. Pronoun referencing and referencing words are also occasionally unclear, such as shifting abruptly between cities and categories without smooth transitions. Paragraphing is attempted, but the internal grouping of information is muddled, mixing different cities and habits indiscriminately. To achieve a higher band, you need to ensure that each paragraph has a clear central topic, that ideas progress logically from one sentence to the next, and that cohesive devices are used accurately to guide the reader seamlessly through the data comparisons.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and barely adequate for the task. There are noticeable errors in word choice, word form, and spelling that occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. Examples of lexical inaccuracies include 'bar chat' instead of chart, 'indivisuals' instead of individuals, 'cafee' instead of café, and 'drnking' instead of drinking. The writer also struggles with appropriate collocations and precise terminology for describing statistical data, such as writing 'the most drnking habit was accounted for having a coffee'. The range of vocabulary is restricted, relying heavily on basic terms and repeating words like 'percentage', 'rate', and 'recorded'. To improve, you need to expand your vocabulary range by learning precise terms for reporting data (e.g., proportion, figure, trend) and pay closer attention to spelling and word forms. Using synonyms and more natural collocations will make your writing much more precise and effective.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a limited range of sentence structures. While there are some attempts at complex sentences, they are often faulty and contain frequent grammatical errors. For instance, the opening sentence 'The bar chat compare the reports...' suffers from a subject-verb agreement error. Other structural issues include awkward phrasing and incorrect preposition use, such as 'went to cafe for drinking coffee' and 'the lowest rate was recorded for buying fresh coffee'. Punctuation and article usage are also inconsistent throughout the text. These frequent errors require the reader to slow down and occasionally cause difficulty in grasping the intended meaning. To reach a higher band, you must improve your control over basic grammar—such as subject-verb agreement, articles, and prepositions—while successfully incorporating a wider variety of error-free complex structures.

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

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