Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-08

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 chart provides the outcome of a survey taken on people's drinking habits and purchasing of tea and coffee in last four weeks, the survey conducted in five cities in Australia.

Overall, people were less interested in buying fresh coffee in every cities rather than other two options. Whereas, the trend for getting coffee from cafe shows the most preffered option, noticeable in Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart in last four weeks.

To begin the people who bought fresh coffee, charts shows approximate same figure for the city Sydney and Melbourne, around 43%. Similarly, in Brisbane and Adelaide it was again similar amount of people buying fresh coffee, with just under 34%. While, Hobart has 38% of the same choice of people. Moving to instant coffee, in comparison of two other categories this was the moderate choice of the citizens of all five cities. The figure for the drinking instant coffee was fluctutating around 45% to 55% in all cities.

Furthermore, the people who went to cafe to buy coffee or tea were the highest in Sydeny, Melbourne,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the chart’s subject and give a broad overview, noting that café visits are especially popular in Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart and that fresh coffee is generally the least popular option. You also include some relevant figures, such as about 43% for fresh coffee in Sydney and Melbourne and the 45–55% range for instant coffee. However, the overview is incomplete: café visits are not the leading category in every city, and Adelaide’s café figure is lower than its instant-coffee figure. The response also ends while introducing the café data, so the key comparisons for that category are not reported. Develop the overview to cover all five cities and accurately compare the categories, especially in Brisbane and Adelaide.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an introduction and overview to fresh coffee, instant coffee and café visits. Paragraphing helps distinguish these stages, and transitions such as “To begin” and “Furthermore” signal changes in focus. However, progression is weakened because the final paragraph stops after naming Sydney and Melbourne, leaving the comparison unfinished. Some linking is mechanical or unclear: “Whereas” begins a sentence without a contrasting clause, and “Moving to instant coffee” is followed by a broad statement rather than a clear city-by-city comparison. Organise the body around complete comparisons, and use linking phrases to show how the figures relate rather than simply announce the next category.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “survey,” “figure,” “bought fresh coffee,” “instant coffee” and “went to cafe,” so the topic is generally clear. There are also attempts at more varied phrasing, such as “the moderate choice” and “fluctuating.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, including “the outcome of a survey,” “getting coffee from cafe” and “the same choice of people.” Spelling errors such as “preffered,” “fluctutating” and “Sydeny” are noticeable and reduce precision. Aim for standard report language and accurate collocations, for example, “survey results,” “visited a café” and “the proportion of residents.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including comparisons introduced by “Whereas” and “Similarly.” However, control is inconsistent, and errors sometimes make relationships between ideas difficult to follow. For example, “the survey conducted in five cities” is an incomplete clause, while “people were less interested in buying fresh coffee in every cities” has agreement and plural errors. “Charts shows” also needs subject–verb agreement, and “the figure for the drinking instant coffee” uses an awkward grammatical construction. Some sentence fragments occur, including “While, Hobart has 38%...” and the unfinished final sentence. Practise complete sentence structures, agreement, articles and plural forms, and proofread punctuation.

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