Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-11

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 following graph compares the outcomes of a survey about the proportion of people who has coffee and tea buying habits and the habits of drinking coffee or tea at a cafe, across five distinct cities, in last four weeks.

Overall, people mostly preferred to went to a cafe to had coffee or tea, rather than buying fresh or instant coffee. Moreover, between two types of coffee: instant coffee and fresh coffee, people mostly preferred instant coffee.

In Hobart, more than 60% of people went to cafe for coffee or tea in the last four weaks, same figure also observed for Malbourne. In Sydney, the number of people who brought fresh coffee or instant coffee had relatively similar figure, at around 45% in the last 4 weeks.

In Adelaide, the percentage of people who brought instant coffee was at 50%, this figure is smililar with the proportion of people who went to cafe for drink in the given time period. However, the people who brought fresh coffee had the lowest percentage was both in Brisbane and Adelaide. Overall, the proportion of people who brought fresh coffee had relatively lower percentage than other category, throughout the time period.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main pattern that café visits were generally more popular than buying either type of coffee, and that instant coffee purchases exceeded fresh coffee purchases in every city. The examples about Hobart and Melbourne being above 60% for café visits, Sydney’s similar purchase figures, and Adelaide’s near-equal instant-coffee and café figures are relevant and broadly accurate. However, coverage is uneven: the overview does not mention that café visits were lowest in Adelaide, and the city-by-city account omits several useful comparisons, including Brisbane’s café figure and the relative café results in Sydney and Adelaide. Also, “mostly preferred” implies a preference rather than simply reporting survey participation. A fuller overview and more systematic comparisons would make the key features clearer.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and two detail paragraphs. The sequence from general patterns to selected city figures is understandable, and linking words such as “Moreover” and “However” help signal relationships. However, progression is not consistently clear because the details move between cities without a systematic comparison, and the final sentence repeats the overview’s point that fresh coffee had lower figures. Some references are also unclear, as in “same figure also observed,” where the reader must infer which figure is meant. Organise the details by category or compare cities in a consistent order, and use clearer referencing to avoid repetition and make the report easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “proportion,” “percentage,” “relatively similar,” and “given time period.” These choices help communicate the main comparisons. However, several word-choice, collocation, and spelling problems reduce precision: “people who has coffee and tea buying habits” is awkward, “preferred to went” is not a natural expression, and “brought” is used where the chart reports people who bought coffee. There are also spelling errors such as “weaks,” “Malbourne,” and “smililar.” Use concise chart-reporting language and check spelling carefully; for example, “the proportion of residents who bought” is clearer than “people who has … habits.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast introduced by “However” and a relative clause in “the people who brought fresh coffee.” Most of the intended meaning remains understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “people who has” has subject–verb disagreement, while “preferred to went” uses the wrong verb form after “to.” The sentence “the people who brought fresh coffee had the lowest percentage was both in Brisbane and Adelaide” is structurally incomplete and difficult to parse. Articles and prepositions are also sometimes missing, as in “went to cafe” and “in last four weeks.” Build comparisons with complete clauses and check agreement, infinitives, and article use.

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