Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-30

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 information of a survey about people's coffee or tea buying and drinking habits, across five different Australian cities.

Overall, Melbourne had huge influence on people about drinking coffee or tea. Whereas, Hobart and Sydney are slightly behind Melbourne. Brisbane is relatively lower percentage and Adelaide falls behind every city.

Firstly, significant number of people drink coffee and tea in Melbourne, nearly 65%. Furthermore above 60% Hobart is slightly behind having a huge number of residents drinking coffee or tea in last 4 weeks. Sydney is close too with above 60% residents drinking coffee or tea in cafe in last 4 weeks.

Secondly, Brisbane at fourth place have 55% of city residents drinking coffee or tea in cafe but they have above 50% of people who buy coffee instant in last 4 weeks. Similarly, Adelaide have huge number of residents buying instant coffee in last 4 weeks nearly 50% and below 50% residents go in cafe to drink coffee or tea.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the broad pattern that café visits were popular in Melbourne, Hobart and Sydney, and that Adelaide had the lowest café figure. However, the overview is partly unclear and includes an unsupported claim that Melbourne had a “huge influence”; the chart reports behaviour, not influence. Some comparisons are accurate, such as café visits being about 63–64% in Melbourne and Hobart and around 61% in Sydney. Other details are imprecise: Brisbane’s café figure is about 56%, while its instant-coffee figure is about 53%, and Adelaide’s instant-coffee figure is about 50%. The response also omits fresh-coffee results, an important category, and does not compare the three habits systematically across all cities. Select the main highs and lows, then support a clear overview with accurate comparisons across all three series.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview and two detail paragraphs. The sequencing from the higher café figures to Brisbane and Adelaide gives the reader a basic route through the information, and connectors such as “Furthermore” and “Similarly” help link points. However, the overview’s “Whereas” sentence is incomplete, and “Firstly” and “Secondly” organise the paragraphs without making the comparison pattern especially clear. The final paragraph combines café attendance and instant-coffee purchases, so the relationships between categories can be hard to follow. Grouping the data by habit—café visits, instant coffee and fresh coffee—or making direct city comparisons within each category would create clearer progression. Use linking expressions to show precise contrasts rather than simply adding another fact.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “residents,” “instant coffee,” “percentage” and “in last 4 weeks,” so the subject is generally clear. There is also some attempt to vary phrasing with “slightly behind” and “close.” However, several choices are imprecise or unnatural for describing chart data: “huge influence on people” does not express a percentage, and “significant number” is less suitable than a proportion-based description. Repetition of “huge number” and “residents” also limits range, while phrases such as “drink coffee and tea in cafe” blur the distinction between buying and visiting a café. Use accurate reporting language such as “accounted for,” “recorded,” and “the proportion who visited,” and vary terms carefully without changing the chart’s meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple statements and more complex forms, including “whereas” and “who buy,” and most of the intended meaning can be understood. However, some sentence structures and agreement patterns are inaccurate. “Whereas, Hobart and Sydney are slightly behind Melbourne” is a fragment because “whereas” introduces a dependent clause, while “Brisbane at fourth place have” has subject–verb disagreement. Similar errors appear in “Adelaide have” and “residents … go in cafe.” Articles and prepositions are also sometimes missing or unsuitable, as in “in cafe.” Keep the comparisons in complete sentences, check singular and plural subjects, and use consistent past-tense reporting for the survey period. These corrections would make the range of structures more controlled and the comparisons easier to read.

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