Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-04

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 bar graph illustrates the proportion of residents in fives Australian cities who bought fresh or instant coffee and visited a cafe for tea and coffee in previous four weeks.

Overall, the proportion of people who visited a cafe was the highest in four of the five cities, Melbourne recorded the highest visitors to a cafe, while people who bought fresh coffee was the least popular in all cities. In terms of instant coffee, Adelaide recorded a slight increase in instant coffee buyers as compared to a cafe visitors.

The proportion of people who went to a cafe was the most popular in Melbourne, accounting 64%, followed by Hobart, at 63% and 61% in Sydney. In contrast, Brisbane and Adelaide recorded, at around 55% and 49% residents, respectively. Regarding people who bought instant coffee was the highest in Hobart, at 54%, followed by Brisbane, at 53%. Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide recorded at around 45%, 47% and 50%, respectively.

Regarding fresh coffee, it was the least popular in all five cities. Sydney recorded 43%. Melbourne, Hobart represented at about 44% and 38% respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features and making some comparisons across the five Australian cities. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. While an overview is attempted, some comparisons are confusing or inaccurately presented, such as the statement that 'Adelaide recorded a slight increase in instant coffee buyers as compared to a cafe visitors,' which misinterprets the static chart data as a trend over time. Furthermore, some data points are slightly inaccurate or vague, such as stating Melbourne's café figure as '64%' instead of approximately 63.5% and missing the specific data for some categories. To reach a higher level, the overview needs to be clearer without time-dependent language, and all key features should be supported with precise data without generalising or misreading the chart.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a coherent overall arrangement and follows a logical structure, grouping information by categories and cities. Paragraphing is utilised to separate the introduction, overview, and body details. However, cohesion at the sentence level is occasionally mechanical or faulty, such as in the phrasing 'accounting 64%' and the somewhat abrupt transitions between sentences and paragraphs. Referencing and linking devices are present, but they are not always managed smoothly, leading to minor disruptions in progression. To achieve a higher band, the writer needs to employ a wider range of cohesive devices more flexibly and ensure that transitions between comparative points flow more naturally.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the student to communicate the general meaning effectively. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary and appropriate topic-specific terms such as 'proportion', 'residents', and various coffee preparation types. However, some awkward word choices and phrasing occur, such as 'fives Australian cities' (typographical slip) and clumsy grammatical integration of statistics like 'accounting 64%' instead of 'accounting for 64%'. Spelling and word choice errors are present but do not impede communication. To move to a higher band, the writer should demonstrate greater precision in collocation and word forms, avoiding awkward phrasings.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting comparative and relative structures. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and sentence architecture, particularly with missing prepositional elements and participle forms, such as 'Melbourne recorded the highest visitors' and 'accounting 64%', as well as awkward clause structures like 'Regarding people who bought instant coffee was the highest'. Punctuation and article usage also exhibit minor inconsistencies. These errors reflect a limited control when attempting more complex syntactic structures. To attain a higher band, the writer must produce a greater proportion of error-free complex sentences and maintain accurate grammatical patterns throughout the text.

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

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