Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-23

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 graph illustrates the concentration of people visiting and buying the coffee in five different cities of Australia. During the recent 4 weeks. Their number varies in each city. As well as the number of coffees they bought during their visit also fluctuated a lot.

Specifically in Sydney, more than 60% people visited the coffee shops for tea or coffee and almost 45% of them took instant coffee while a little less than 45% preffered fresh coffee during last four weeks. Meanwhile, it was quite odd that no one chose tea. Moreover a similer trend was also observed in melbourne, brisbane and Hobart. Apart from these cities, in Adelaide the number of people visiting the coffee shops were little less than who bought instant coffee. The surprising fact that was observed in this study was in each city number of people who decided to have fresh coffee was least.

So, it's concluded that the people living in these five cities of Australia like to go to coffee shops alit, but most of them like to have instant coffee instead of fresh one.

AI examiner evaluation

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

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the three activities and make relevant comparisons, including café visits being above 60% in Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart, and fresh coffee being the least popular option in every city. However, the response only partly reports the chart: it gives few precise comparisons across all five cities and does not clearly summarise the overall pattern that café-going was generally most common, while instant coffee purchases exceeded fresh coffee purchases in four cities. The claim that “no one chose tea” is unsupported: the chart combines coffee and tea café visits and does not show tea choices separately. The conclusion that most residents prefer instant coffee also overgeneralises, since café visits have higher figures in four cities. Select the main trends accurately and support them with clearer comparisons.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic sequence: an introduction, city-specific observations and a concluding statement. Linking expressions such as “Specifically,” “Meanwhile,” and “Moreover” help signal movement between points. However, progression is not consistently clear because several cities are grouped together in “a similar trend was also observed” without explaining which figures or similarities are meant. The opening also contains a sentence fragment (“During the recent 4 weeks”), and the conclusion repeats a broad claim rather than drawing together the chart’s main comparisons. Organise the body into clearer groups—for example, café attendance and coffee purchases—and use references that make each comparison explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant chart vocabulary, including “varies,” “fluctuated,” “preferred,” and “observed,” and the reader can generally understand the topic. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or informal, such as “concentration of people,” “took instant coffee,” and “like to go to coffee shops a lot.” “No one chose tea” also uses wording that does not match what the chart measures. Spelling errors such as “preffered,” “similer,” and “melbourne” are noticeable. Use precise terms for the activities shown, and check spelling and natural collocations so the comparisons are easier to follow.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

There are attempts to use complex sentences, including “Apart from these cities, in Adelaide…” and “The surprising fact that was observed…,” but control is uneven. The opening has a fragment: “During the recent 4 weeks.” Agreement and sentence construction are also problematic in “the number of people visiting the coffee shops were little less,” where the singular subject “number” requires a singular verb and the comparison is incomplete. Other errors include missing articles in “more than 60% people” and awkward clause structure in “the number of coffees they bought during their visit also fluctuated.” These errors sometimes make relationships between ideas unclear. Practise complete sentences, subject–verb agreement, articles and accurate comparative structures.

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.