Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-21

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)

THIS BARGRAPH ILLUSTRATES STATISTIC RESULT OF A SURVEY ABOUT CONSUMPTIONS AND PURCHASES OF COFFEE AND TEA IN FIVE MAJOR CITIES OF AUSTRALIA LIKE, SYDNEY, MALBOURNE, BRISBANE, ADELAIDE AND HOBART. IT DEVIDED IN THREE CATOGRIES OF PEOPLE WHO BOUGHT FRESH COFFEE, BOUGHT INSTANT COFFEE AND SOME PREFERRED TO WENT TO A CAFE FOR COFFEE OR TEA IN LAST 4 WEEKS.

IN ALL CITIES THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF CITY RESIDENTS WERE INTRESTED IN WENT TO A CAFE FOR COFFEE OR TEA AND IT'S PERCENTAGES ARE ALMOST SAME IN SYDNEY, MALBOURNE AND HOBART IT IS 61, 65 AND 64. AFTER THAT IN OTHER TWO CETIES THE PERCENTAAGE IS 55 IN BRISBANE AND NEAR TO 50 IN ADELAIDE. THE PERCENTAGE OF PURCHASING INSTANT COFFEE WAS 55 AND 53 IN HOBART AND BRISBANE. MOREOVER THE RATE WAS DECRESED IN OTHER THREE COUNTRIES AND IT IS 50 47 AND 46 IN ADELAIDE, MELBOURNE AND SYDNEY. LASTLY THE SALES OF COFFEE WAS HIGHEST IN SYDNEY AND IT WAS 43% AND THE LOWEST WAS IN BRISBANE AND THAT WAS 34%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the chart’s subject and report several relevant comparisons, including café visits being highest in most cities and fresh-coffee purchases being relatively low in Brisbane. However, the response only partly summarises the main features: it gives no clear overview of the overall pattern across all three categories, and the fresh-coffee data are discussed only briefly. Some figures are inaccurate: café attendance in Melbourne and Hobart is about 63–64%, not 65% and 64% as stated, while instant coffee in Melbourne and Sydney is about 48.5% and 45.5%, rather than 47% and 46%. Also, “sales” is not what the chart measures; it reports residents who bought fresh coffee. Select the key comparisons and report them accurately to make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response follows a broadly sensible order: it introduces the chart, then discusses café visits, instant coffee and fresh coffee. This gives the reader some organisation, and linking expressions such as “After that,” “Moreover” and “Lastly” show an attempt to connect points. However, the information is presented as one continuous block, with no distinct overview paragraph, and the progression between comparisons is sometimes mechanical. Phrases such as “in other two cities” and “the rate was decreased in other three countries” make the relationships between the figures less clear; these are cities, and the figures are comparisons rather than a change over time. Use separate paragraphs for the overview and details, and connect each comparison explicitly to the relevant category and cities.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-related vocabulary, including “percentage,” “residents,” “purchasing” and “survey,” so the topic is generally recognisable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, which sometimes makes the meaning awkward. For example, “statistic result” and “consumptions and purchases” are not natural descriptions of the chart, while “the sales of coffee” mislabels the measure. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “Malbourne,” “devided,” “catogries” and “intrested.” Aim for precise chart language and check spelling carefully. Useful alternatives include “proportion of residents,” “visited a café,” and “bought fresh coffee.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts both longer sentences and simple comparisons, but the range of sentence structures is limited and errors occur frequently. For example, “people who bought fresh coffee, bought instant coffee and some preferred to went” has faulty parallel structure and verb form; “the highest percentage … were interested in went” is also grammatically unclear. Subject–verb agreement and sentence construction are problematic in “it’s percentages are” and “the rate was decreased.” Punctuation is also weak: the response is written entirely in capitals, and several long sentences run together without clear boundaries. Practise building accurate sentences with a clear subject and verb, such as “The proportion who visited a café was highest in Hobart,” and use full stops to separate comparisons.

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