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 chart illustrates the results of a survey about people's coffee and tea buying and drinking habits in five Australian cities.

Overall, the people who bought fresh coffee in last four weeks is highest in Sydney. People who drank fresh coffe is highest in Hobart while people who went to a cafe for coffe or tea are highest in Melbourne. Going to a cafe is more poular then buying instant or fresh coffe in all five cities of Australia.

Fresh bought coffee takes the lead in Sydney with almost 44% of people compared to other cities, Melbourne contains 43% of people, 34% in Brisbane, a little less than 35% in Adelaide and approximately 43% in Hobart. Instant coffe is consumed more than fresh coffee with 45.5% in Sydney, 48% in Melbourne, 53% in Brisbane, 50% in Adelaide and 54% in Hobart.

Hobart rankes the highest in instant coffee consumption. Furthermore, going to a cafe is very common in all cities with 61% of residents in Sydney, 64% in Melbourne, 55% in Brisbane, 49% in Adelaide and 63% in Hobart.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover the three survey categories and provide an overview, noting that café visits are more common than either type of coffee purchase across all five cities. Most figures are close to the chart, and the comparison of instant with fresh coffee is relevant. However, the overview contains important inaccuracies: fresh coffee purchases peak in Sydney, but café visits peak in Melbourne, not Hobart; the chart records purchases rather than people who “drank fresh coffee.” The fresh-coffee figure for Hobart is also overstated at approximately 43% rather than about 38.5%. These errors make some key comparisons unclear, while the remaining details are generally relevant. Check the chart carefully and make the overview’s main comparisons precise and consistent with the data.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a clear basic structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs presenting the figures. The information is mostly grouped sensibly, with fresh and instant coffee discussed before café visits. However, progression is weakened by the inaccurate overview and by repeating the claim that Hobart ranks highest in instant coffee after already giving the figures. Some links, such as “Furthermore,” connect ideas, but the relationships between comparisons are not always made explicit. The overview also shifts between buying, drinking, and visiting cafés, which makes the categories harder to follow. Organise the body around clear comparisons and use references such as “this figure” only when their meaning is unmistakable.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “survey,” “residents,” “instant coffee,” and “approximately,” and the reader can generally understand the comparisons. However, the range is limited and several spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable: “coffe,” “poular,” and “rankes.” Some expressions are also imprecise or unnatural, such as “Fresh bought coffee takes the lead” and “Melbourne contains 43% of people.” Use standard collocations for describing chart data, for example, “the proportion who bought fresh coffee” and “the figure for Melbourne.” Take care to distinguish purchases from consumption, since the chart reports whether residents bought coffee or visited a café, not what they drank.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple statements and longer comparative sentences, and the main information is usually understandable. Some grammatical errors remain, particularly in agreement and sentence construction. In “the people who bought fresh coffee … is highest,” the plural subject requires “are,” or the sentence could be recast as “the proportion … is highest.” The phrase “in last four weeks” needs an article (“in the last four weeks”), and “compared to other cities” is attached awkwardly to the Sydney figure. The overview also uses parallel clauses inconsistently. Build accuracy by checking subject–verb agreement, articles, and complete comparative structures, while continuing to vary sentence forms.

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