Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-14

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 illustrates the results of a survey in five Australian urban areas about individuals spent money on coffee, tea and drinking.

Overall, Melbourne accounted for the highest percentage of people went to a cafe to bought coffee or tea in last 4 weeks. Followed by residenced of Hobart spent money on instant coffee and remained second. In contrast, Brisbane showed the lowest number of individuals who bought fresh coffee in last 4 weeks.

Almost 64% of Melbourne population visited to a cafe for coffee or tea, near 50% people apent money on instant coffee, while almost 34% bought fresh coffee in last 4 weeks. Around 63% of Hobart citizens went to a cafe for coffee, 54% bought instant coffee, whereas near 38% purshased fresh coffee during the last 4 weeks.

More than 60% of Sydney public paid for coffee or tea, higher than 45% bought ready-made coffee, while almost 44% spent money on fresh coffee. The majority of Brisbane citizens visited cafe for coffee or tea and instant coffee, whereas less than 35% bought fresh coffee.Almost half of the Adelaide people reached cafe for coffee or tea and instant coffee, Near 34% individuals paid for fresh coffee.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You cover all five cities and all three survey categories, and the overview identifies useful broad features: café visits are high in Melbourne and Hobart, while fresh-coffee purchases are relatively low in Brisbane. However, the overview contains a key miscomparison: Melbourne is not the highest for café visits; Hobart is marginally higher, while Melbourne is also just below Hobart. Some details are unclear or inaccurate, such as saying Brisbane residents visited cafés and bought instant coffee as “the majority”; the figures are about 55.5% and 53%, respectively. The report also gives limited direct comparison across cities. Select the clearest highs and lows, state them accurately, and support the overview with precise comparisons.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview and two detail paragraphs. Grouping Melbourne and Hobart together, then discussing the other cities, gives the reader a basic route through the data. However, progression within the overview is difficult to follow: “Followed by residenced of Hobart…” is not a complete, clear comparison, and the overview shifts between café visits, instant coffee and fresh coffee without a consistent organising principle. The final paragraph also packs three cities into a long sequence, with limited linking or contrast. Use complete sentences and organise details by a clear pattern—for example, compare café attendance first, then distinguish fresh and instant coffee purchases.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “percentage,” “population,” “citizens,” “visited” and “purchased,” and you attempt to vary expressions for the survey categories. However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural, which makes some information harder to interpret. “Individuals spent money on coffee, tea and drinking” does not accurately describe the chart, which reports buying coffee and visiting cafés for coffee or tea. “Ready-made coffee” is not a clear substitute for instant coffee, and “reached cafe” is unsuitable for describing café visits. Spelling errors such as “apent” and “purshased” also reduce control. Prefer the chart’s precise category labels and use natural reporting phrases such as “the proportion who bought instant coffee.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including comparisons with “while” and “whereas,” but grammatical errors are frequent and sometimes make relationships unclear. For example, “people went to a cafe to bought” has an incorrect verb form, while “the highest percentage of people went” needs a clearer structure such as “the highest proportion of people who went.” The fragment “Followed by residenced of Hobart…” does not form a complete sentence. There are also errors in articles, prepositions and sentence boundaries, as in “visited to a cafe” and “fresh coffee.Almost.” Build each comparison around a complete subject and verb, check verb forms after “to,” and proofread punctuation and sentence endings.

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

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