Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-17
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 illustrate the result of a survey about drinking habits and beverage buying such as coffee and tea among Australian citizens in five diverse cities, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Hobart.
Overall, it is immediately apparent that while going to the coffee shop has become a popular trend, buying fresh coffee exhibits the lowest percentage among all residences in last 4 weeks.
Looking at the city of Hobart, people are more likely to be fans these beverages, which accounted for 63% for coffee shop visitors. However, buying instant and fresh coffee are making up approximately 54% and 36% respectively.
On the other hand, in the city of Brisbane only 34% in buying fresh coffee, which is the lowest percentage among all the cities following by Adelaide with the identical level of Brisbane.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5
The response identifies the chart’s subject and gives an overview, noting that café visits are popular and fresh coffee purchases are generally lower. It also includes relevant figures for Hobart and the low fresh-coffee rates in Brisbane and Adelaide. However, coverage is very limited: it omits the café figures for most cities and makes few comparisons across all three categories. The overview is also too broad, since fresh coffee is not the lowest category in every city; café visits are lower than instant coffee in Adelaide. The Hobart fresh-coffee figure is understated (about 38.5%, not 36%). The response is 16 words below the required minimum. Develop a fuller overview and report key contrasts across the five cities.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs presenting selected details. The transition “On the other hand” signals a shift to Brisbane and Adelaide, and the information is broadly understandable. However, progression is limited because the body moves from Hobart to Brisbane and Adelaide without a clear organising principle, and most cities and categories are not covered. Some linking is also awkward: “following by Adelaide” does not clearly express the comparison. Grouping cities by a meaningful pattern, such as the highest café attendance or the lowest fresh-coffee purchases, would make the comparisons easier to follow. More complete paragraph development would strengthen the overall flow.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The response uses relevant topic vocabulary, including “survey,” “percentage,” “buying instant,” and “fresh coffee,” and attempts some less common phrasing such as “immediately apparent.” However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for describing chart data. “Fans these beverages” is unclear, “coffee shop” does not precisely match the chart’s café category, and “following by” is an incorrect collocation. “Diverse cities” adds little meaning, while “popular trend” suggests a change over time that the chart does not show. Aim for precise reporting language and natural collocations, such as “the proportion of residents who visited a café” and “followed by.”
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response attempts a range of sentence forms, including a contrast clause beginning “while” and a sentence starting “Looking at the city of Hobart.” Meaning is generally recoverable, but errors in agreement and sentence construction remain. In the opening, “The bar chart illustrate” should be “illustrates.” The phrase “buying instant and fresh coffee are making up” has an awkward subject–verb pattern; “the figures for instant and fresh coffee were approximately…” would be clearer. “Only 34% in buying fresh coffee” is not a complete grammatical construction, and “only 34% of residents bought fresh coffee” would be more accurate. Check articles and plural forms as well, particularly in “among all residences.”
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.