Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-25

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 illustrates the percentage of city residents, which are buying and drinking caffee and tea habits in five cities - Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart in Australia. The survey is in last 4 weeks

Overall, most of people went to a cafe for coffee or tea in four cities than the fresh coffee and instant coffee. However, in Adelaide city residents bought instant coffee rather than fress cofee and went to cafe.

In Sydney, 61% of individuals were went to a cafe and 46% of people buought instant coffee and 44% of bought fresh coffee. The number of people who bought fress coffe in Melbourne 43% which is heighest than in Brisbane city, where just below the 35% of people bought fresh coffee. In contrast, 47% of people and and 53% of people bought instant coffee In melbourne and Brisbane cities. In melbourne, there were the highest 63 percentage of people went to cafe than the other four cities, but in Brisbane city just over 55% of people went to cafe

In Adelaide city, there were bought instant coffe is a quite higher than the went to a cafe, which was 50% and 29%, respectively, but Adelaide cities, t 34% of people bought fresh coffee and 37% in Hobart city. However, in Habart city the percentage of residents at stood 62%.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the chart’s subject and provide an overview that captures the main pattern: café visits were highest in most cities, while Adelaide is the exception, with instant coffee purchases exceeding café visits. You also include relevant comparisons across the cities. However, some figures are inaccurate or unclear: Sydney instant coffee is about 45.5%, not 46% (a reasonable approximation), but Melbourne’s café figure is about 63.5%, and the claim that it is the highest overlooks Hobart at about 63%, which is very similar. More importantly, Adelaide café visits are about 49.5%, not 29%, so this substantially distorts the comparison. The overview is relevant, but the final city comparisons need more accurate reporting and clearer selection of key features.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an introduction and overview to city-specific details, and the comparisons are generally relevant. Paragraphing helps separate the overview from the data. However, progression within the body is uneven: the second paragraph moves from Sydney to Melbourne and Brisbane, while the final paragraph combines Adelaide and Hobart in a way that makes some comparisons difficult to follow. Linking phrases such as “In contrast” and “However” are used, but connections are sometimes unclear or repetitive. For example, “but Adelaide cities” does not clearly show how the figures relate. Grouping cities by a shared pattern and using clearer references would make the information easier to track.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some appropriate chart vocabulary, including “percentage,” “bought,” “went to a cafe,” and “in contrast,” so the topic remains understandable. However, the range is limited and several spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable, including repeated forms such as “cofee,” “fress,” and “Habart.” Some phrases are also unnatural or imprecise, such as “most of people” and “the highest 63 percentage.” These errors sometimes make the reader pause, particularly in the final paragraph. Aim for accurate, consistent terms such as “residents,” “proportion,” and “visited a café,” and check spelling carefully. More precise vocabulary for comparing figures would also help you avoid repetitive wording.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including comparisons with “where” and “which,” and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, sentence structures are often faulty, and errors can make some details difficult to interpret. Examples include “which are buying and drinking,” “The survey is in last 4 weeks,” and “61% of individuals were went to a cafe,” where the verb forms and sentence construction are incorrect. There are also problems with articles, agreement, and sentence boundaries, as in “In Adelaide city, there were bought instant…” and the long, loosely connected final sentence. Practise forming clear subject–verb sentences and use past-tense reporting consistently, for example, “61% visited a café.”

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

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