Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-03

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 information on the coffee and tea purchasing habits in five different cities in Australia is depicted in the bar graph. The data has been presented as percentages.

Overall, it is immediately apparent from the graph that, over the last four weeks, the number of residents in all cities (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Hobart) who went to a cafe for coffee or tea was higher. People's preference for fresh coffee in all cities was at a lower rate.

Two out of five cities, that is Sydney and Melbourne, followed a similar pattern, with people choosing their drink by visiting a cafe contributing to over 60%. Similarly, more than 45% of residents bought ready-made coffee and over 40% bought fresh coffee. Adelaide, on the other hand, followed a different trajectory, with citizens preferring instant coffee, which made up half (50%), while going to a cafe for a drink was the second-highest choice. Meanwhile, fresh coffee buyers account for the lowest proportions.

The figures for Hobart individuals who went to a cafe for coffee or tea in the last 4 weeks were above the 60th percentile, while Brisbane stood at just 55%. Instant coffee buyers in both cities are above 50%. Fresh Coffee buyers were the lowest in both cities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by reporting data across all five cities and highlighting the three main habits: buying fresh coffee, buying instant coffee, and visiting cafes. An overview is provided, noting general trends such as café visits being higher overall. However, some parts of the task are developed more fully than others, and certain details lack sufficient depth or precision. For instance, the mention of Hobart residents being 'above the 60th percentile' is slightly imprecise phrasing for percentages, and some comparisons could be extended further to fully explore the interplay between instant and fresh coffee purchases across all locations. Nonetheless, the core information is relevant and accurately reflects the provided chart.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, an overview paragraph, and body paragraphs that group cities and habits logically. Information progresses reasonably well from general patterns to specific city details. However, cohesion is occasionally mechanical or slightly awkward, such as the abrupt transitions between cities and the repetitive use of sentence openings like 'Similarly' and 'Meanwhile'. Referencing is generally clear, but paragraphing could be structured more tightly to ensure each city's data points are contrasted more fluidly without disjointed sentences at the end of the text.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying statistical information and habits using terms like 'purchasing habits', 'proportion', and 'trajectory'. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'trajectory' and 'percentile', though these demonstrate some slight inaccuracy in context, as 'percentile' is technically different from a percentage point. There are also occasional word choice slips, but spelling and word formation are generally accurate, and communication is never impeded. To reach a higher level, a wider and more flexible range of precise lexical items would be needed.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and introductory participial phrases effectively. There is good control over basic structures, and the majority of sentences are clear and understandable. Some errors in grammar and punctuation persist, such as minor prepositional awkwardness or awkward phrasing like 'people choosing their drink by visiting a cafe contributing to over 60%', but these errors rarely impede communication and do not obscure the meaning of the data. The command of tenses and subject-verb agreement is generally sound throughout the report.

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