Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-28

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 5.0)

The bar chart illustartes coffee and tea buying and drinking habits in five cities (Sydeny, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Hobart) in Australia.

Overall, it is clear that the went to a cafe for coffee or tea in last 4 weeks recorded the largest figure, while bought fresh coffee in last 4 weeks had the smallest. Bought insatant coffee in last 4 weeks had increased over the period.

In Melbourne the Went to a cafe for coffee or tea in last 4 weeks was the highest at approximately 64%, followed by bought instant coffee in last 4 weeks with almost 54% in Hobart. Bought fresh coffee in last 4 weeks in Brisbane and Adelaide were slighty lower at around 34% in both palse

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the chart’s subject and include a relevant overall comparison: café visits are generally the highest category, while fresh coffee purchases tend to be lower. You also report some figures, such as Melbourne’s café figure and the similar fresh-coffee results for Brisbane and Adelaide. However, the overview is not fully accurate: fresh coffee is not the lowest category in every city, and the chart shows comparisons across cities rather than change over time, so “had increased over the period” is unsupported. Coverage is very limited, with several cities and key comparisons omitted. The response is also 112 words, below the required 150; the nine words copied from the prompt are excluded from that count. Develop the overview and compare all three categories across more cities.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic structure: an introduction, an overview, and a paragraph with selected details. This gives the reader some sense of how the information is organised, and phrases such as “Overall” and “followed by” signal relationships between points. However, the progression is limited: the final paragraph moves between Melbourne, Hobart, and Brisbane/Adelaide without a clear organising principle, and the response ends abruptly. Repeating the full chart labels makes the sentences cumbersome rather than helping connections. Group the cities or categories consistently, then use concise references such as “this figure” or “the corresponding rate” to link comparisons. A fuller, clearly sequenced account would make the organisation easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “bar chart,” “approximately,” “figure,” and “followed by,” so the main subject is generally understandable. However, the range is narrow and several phrases are repeated almost verbatim from the chart, such as “bought fresh coffee in last 4 weeks.” There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “illustartes,” “Sydeny,” “insatant,” and “slighty,” which reduce accuracy. Some wording is awkward or imprecise, particularly “had increased over the period,” since the chart compares cities rather than showing change over time. Use concise paraphrases and accurate comparison language, while checking spelling and choosing natural collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and a more developed comparison, for example, “followed by bought instant coffee …,” and the main meaning can usually be understood. However, the range of sentence structures is limited, and errors occur in agreement, articles, and sentence construction. In “the went to a cafe … recorded,” the category is treated as a clause without a suitable noun phrase; “the rate for café visits was highest” would be clearer. “Bought fresh coffee … in Brisbane and Adelaide were” also has an awkward subject structure and agreement. The final sentence lacks a full stop and ends with an incomplete word. Practise building complete sentences around “the proportion/percentage of residents,” and check articles, agreement, and punctuation.

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

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