Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-12

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 column graph illustrates the outcomes of a survey about people's buying coffee and tea and their drinking habits across five different cities in Australia.

At first glance, it is clear that in sydney just a little below 45% of population bought fresh coffee in last 4 weeks. There is a negligible amount of difference shown between the figures of buying fresh and instant cofee during last month in sydney, whereas a huge amount of population went to a cafe for coffee or tea in the last 4 weeks, which is around 62%. Moreover, in melbourne, the population of around 40% bought fresh coffee in last 28 days, the people who bought instant coffee accounted for around 48%.

A large amount of population went to the cafe to consume coffee or tea in last 4 weeks which accounts for 64%. In brisbane, there were very less number of people who bought fresh coffee, instant coffee and went to a cafe for coffee or tea in last month was 34%, 53% and 63% respectively.

Moving further, In adelaide, the figures for population who bought fresh coffee in last for weeks was around 34%, whilst the proportion of people who bought insttant coffee and went to cafe for coffee or tea was almost the same during the last four weeks which is around 50%. In hobart, the persons who bought fresh coffee were around 38%, in contrast who bought instant coffee were about 54% and 63% of population went to a cafe for cafe or tea in last 4 weeks.

Overall, the highest number of people in every city were went to a cafe for having coffee or tea in last 28 days. However, very less amount of persons bought fresh coffee over the same period of time.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover all three survey categories in all five cities and include relevant figures, so the reader can compare the main behaviours. Your overview correctly identifies café visits as the leading activity in most cities and fresh coffee purchases as generally lower. However, it overgeneralises: café attendance is not highest in Adelaide, where instant coffee purchases are slightly higher (about 50% versus 49.5%). There is also a notable factual error in Brisbane: you report café visits at 63%, but the chart shows about 55.5%. The city-by-city account gives useful detail, though some comparisons and the overall pattern are less fully developed. Highlighting the highest and lowest values across the chart, while checking each figure, would make the summary more accurate and complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, moving through the cities and ending with an overview. Paragraphing helps separate the detailed account from the summary, and transitions such as “Moreover” and “Moving further” signal progression. However, the organisation is largely a sequence of city-by-city descriptions rather than a clear grouping of the most important comparisons. Some linking is mechanical, and the overview appears at the end rather than guiding the reader before the details. The Brisbane sentence also combines several figures in a way that makes the comparison harder to follow. Grouping cities by shared patterns—for example, café attendance being highest in four cities—and using clearer references between sentences would improve progression and cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “proportion,” “accounted for,” “figures,” and “in contrast,” and the meaning is generally clear. However, several expressions are imprecise or unnatural for describing chart data: “a huge amount of population,” “very less number,” and “persons” are not suitable collocations here. There are also spelling slips, including “cofee” and “insttant,” and repeated use of “population” and “went to a cafe” limits flexibility. Choose concise, accurate terms such as “the proportion of residents” and “visited a café,” and vary reporting verbs. More precise vocabulary would make the comparisons sound more natural and formal.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including clauses introduced by “whereas” and “whilst,” and most of the intended comparisons remain understandable. Some grammatical errors persist, particularly with articles, agreement, and sentence construction. For example, “in sydney just a little below 45% of population” needs an article and a clearer subject, while “the highest number of people … were went” has an incorrect verb form. In “there were very less number of people … was 34%,” the agreement and structure are also faulty. Capitalisation and punctuation are inconsistent. Practise building accurate comparison sentences with a clear subject and verb, and check articles and agreement before adding complex clauses.

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