Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 compares the data from a survey about percentage of city residents buying and drinking coffee and tea in last 28 days in five cities-(Sadney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart) in Australia.

Overall, in all five cities people were mostly prefer went to a cafe for drinking and buying coffee or tea, specially the people live in Melbourne city. Bought instant coffee is lower percentage of people then the percentage of people who visited to cafe for coffee or tea, whereas the bought fresh coffee lowest percentage of people buying and drinking in all five cities.

In Melbourne 63%,of people were go to cafe for drinking coffee or tea and 62% and 61% people in Hobart and Sydney, respectively. While, the percentage of buying instant coffee in last 4 weeks was highest in Hobart city by below 55% and least in Sydney city by just over 45%. Most of the people like fresh coffee in Sydney stood at around 48% and 43% in Melbourne, 37% in Brisbane, 38% in Adelaide and 38% in Hobart city, respectively.

The number of people who went to a cafe in last week was quite a difference between buying instant coffee in Brishbane and Adelaide cities, which difference were 5% and 1%, respectively. The second popular was buying instant coffee in all cities in last 28 days.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the chart’s subject and provide an overview, noting that café visits are generally the most common activity and fresh-coffee purchases are often lower. You also make relevant city comparisons, such as café attendance in Melbourne, Hobart and Sydney. However, several details are inaccurate or unclear: fresh coffee in Sydney is about 44%, not around 48%, and Brisbane and Adelaide are both about 34.5%, rather than 37% and 38%. The claim that fresh coffee is the lowest activity in every city is also incorrect, since instant coffee is lower than café visits in some cities but fresh coffee is not always the least popular. The final comparison is difficult to interpret. Select the clearest overall patterns and report figures consistently.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview and two detail paragraphs, so the reader can identify the main sections. However, progression within the paragraphs is uneven: the overview combines several comparisons without clearly distinguishing the three activities, and the final paragraph shifts to a comparison of Brisbane and Adelaide that is hard to follow. Linking words such as “whereas” and “while” are attempted, but some are used awkwardly or leave relationships unclear. For example, “The number of people who went to a cafe…was quite a difference between buying instant coffee” does not clearly state what is being compared. Group the data by activity or by city, and use direct comparison sentences to create a clearer sequence.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “percentage,” “survey,” “visited,” and “stood at around,” and the reader can generally understand the topic. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, such as “people were mostly prefer,” “people live in Melbourne city,” and “the second popular.” Repetition of “people,” “percentage,” and “coffee” also makes the description less precise. There are spelling errors in city names, including “Sadney” and “Brishbane,” which reduce accuracy. Aim for concise, conventional reporting language and vary expressions for proportions and comparisons, while checking spelling and using natural combinations such as “residents who visited a café” and “the second most common activity.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple statements and longer sentences with comparisons, but control is inconsistent. Errors occur in verb forms and sentence construction, for example “people were mostly prefer went” and “people in Hobart and Sydney,” where the comparison lacks a clear verb. There are also problems with articles, agreement and punctuation, as in “in last 28 days,” “which difference were 5%,” and “63%,of people.” These errors sometimes make relationships between figures difficult to understand. Practise building accurate comparison patterns, such as “The proportion in Hobart was higher than in Sydney,” and check each sentence for a complete subject and verb, correct tense, and appropriate punctuation.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.