Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-05

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 4.0)

The bar chart illustrate the percentage of residents in five cities of Australia about buying and drinking coffee and tea. Overall the trend of visiting cafe remained most popular in all cities and buying fresh coffee was the least. We also saw good percentage of people preffering instant coffee in previous four weeks.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

The response fails to meet the minimum length requirement of 150 words, containing only 53 words, which severely restricts the depth and scope of the task completion. While the writer attempts an overview by stating that visiting cafes was the most popular activity and buying fresh coffee the least, the data is not fully or accurately reported, and specific figures from the chart are entirely omitted. Key comparisons between the five Australian cities are missing, meaning the response addresses the prompt only minimally and superficially. To achieve a higher band, the writer must ensure the response exceeds the word count threshold and includes specific, accurate data points and comparisons across all categories.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The text presents a basic attempt at organization with an opening sentence that introduces the chart and a brief overall statement. However, because the response is extremely short, there is no true paragraphing or progression of ideas. Cohesive devices are minimal, limited to a basic transition phrase ("Overall") and a colloquial conjunction ("We also saw"). Referencing is vague and lacks the logical sequencing required for a fully coherent report. To improve, the writer needs to structure the response into distinct paragraphs—such as a dedicated overview followed by body paragraphs grouping data logically—and employ a wider variety of cohesive markers to connect ideas smoothly.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for basic communication, featuring common terms such as "percentage," "residents," "buying," and "drinking." However, the range of vocabulary is limited and repetitive. There are noticeable lexical errors, such as the spelling mistake "preffering" and the awkward phrasing "trend of visiting cafe remained most popular," which lack precision and natural collocation. The writer does not attempt less common lexical items with success. To reach a higher band, the writer should incorporate a broader range of precise, task-specific vocabulary related to data reporting, such as verbs of proportion and descriptive adjectives, while eliminating spelling and word-choice inaccuracies.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response displays a very limited range of grammatical structures, consisting primarily of simple sentences with a few basic attempts at complex forms. There are notable grammatical errors, such as the subject-verb agreement issue in "The bar chart illustrate" instead of "illustrates," and the missing prepositional or structural coherence in "percentage of residents in five cities of Australia about buying." Punctuation and article usage are also shaky. To progress, the writer needs to demonstrate a greater variety of complex sentence structures with good grammatical control, ensuring accurate subject-verb agreement, correct prepositions, and proper tense usage throughout the response.

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

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