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Cambridge 15 Writing Task 1 Test 1 - Sample Answers (Band 9 to 4-5)
Real band 9, 8, 7 and 6.5 sample answers for this prompt, plus a genuine band 4-5 answer so you can see exactly what pulls a score down. Every sample comes with examiner-style notes on Task Achievement, Coherence & Cohesion, Lexical Resource and Grammatical Range & Accuracy.
The Prompt
Coffee and Tea Buying Habits in Australia
The chart below shows the coffee and tea buying and drinking habits in five Australian cities.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
The Data
Coffee and tea habits by city (% of residents, last 4 weeks)
Bought fresh coffee: Sydney 43%, Melbourne 42%, Brisbane 34%, Adelaide 34%, Hobart 38%
Bought instant coffee: Sydney 46%, Melbourne 48%, Brisbane 52%, Adelaide 50%, Hobart 54%
Went to a cafe: Sydney 71%, Melbourne 73%, Brisbane 55%, Adelaide 50%, Hobart 72%
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196 wordsIdentifies Hobart's unusual combination of high cafe attendance and high instant coffee use, rather than describing three separate, unconnected charts.
The three bar charts compare coffee and tea buying and drinking habits across five Australian cities over a four-week period.
Overall, Sydney and Melbourne showed the strongest preference for fresh coffee and cafe visits, while Adelaide consistently recorded the lowest figures across nearly every category, and instant coffee purchases were, somewhat surprisingly, highest in Hobart, the city with otherwise strong cafe attendance.
For fresh coffee, Sydney led narrowly at 43%, followed closely by Melbourne at 42%, while Brisbane and Adelaide were tied at the bottom, both at 34%. Cafe visits followed a broadly similar pattern, with Melbourne highest at 73%, closely followed by Hobart at 72% and Sydney at 71%, while Adelaide again recorded the lowest figure, at just 50%.
Instant coffee purchases, however, told a different story. Hobart recorded the highest proportion at 54%, despite also having one of the highest rates of cafe attendance, suggesting residents there supplement cafe visits with instant coffee at home rather than exclusively drinking fresh coffee. Brisbane and Adelaide also showed relatively high instant coffee figures, at 52% and 50% respectively, indicating that in cities with lower fresh coffee consumption, instant coffee appeared to fill much of the gap.
Examiner Notes
Task Achievement: Covers all three charts and all five cities with a precise overview identifying the genuinely notable feature: Hobart's high instant coffee use despite strong cafe attendance.
Coherence & Cohesion: A clear overview precedes detail organised by chart, with cohesive devices ("however", "indicating that") linking the contrast naturally.
Lexical Resource: Precise, varied language ("tied at the bottom", "fill much of the gap", "otherwise strong") used accurately throughout.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Wide range of accurate structures, including comparatives and passive forms, used with full control.
Band 8
165 wordsAccurate and clearly organised, just slightly less analytically framed than a band 9 answer.
The three bar charts show coffee and tea buying and drinking habits in five Australian cities over a four-week period.
Overall, Sydney and Melbourne had the highest rates of fresh coffee buying and cafe visits, while Adelaide generally had the lowest figures, and Hobart had the highest rate of instant coffee buying despite also having high cafe attendance.
For fresh coffee, Sydney was highest at 43%, followed by Melbourne at 42%, while Brisbane and Adelaide were both lowest at 34%. A similar pattern appeared for cafe visits, with Melbourne highest at 73%, followed by Hobart at 72% and Sydney at 71%, while Adelaide was again lowest, at 50%.
However, instant coffee showed a different pattern. Hobart had the highest rate at 54%, even though it also had one of the highest rates of cafe visits. Brisbane and Adelaide also had fairly high instant coffee figures, at 52% and 50%, suggesting that people in cities with less fresh coffee buying relied more on instant coffee instead.
Examiner Notes
Task Achievement: Covers all three charts accurately with a clear overview, including Hobart's unusual pattern, though it is described a little more simply than in the band 9 answer.
Coherence & Cohesion: Clearly organised with an overview followed by grouped detail; cohesive devices are accurate throughout.
Lexical Resource: Good range of vocabulary for comparison, though "a different pattern" is slightly less precise than the higher-band answer's more analytical phrasing.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Accurate throughout, with a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures.
Band 7
159 wordsAll figures are correct, but the overview does not fully bring out the contrast in Hobart's habits.
The bar charts give information about coffee and tea buying and drinking habits in five Australian cities.
Overall, Sydney and Melbourne had the highest numbers for fresh coffee and cafe visits, while Adelaide usually had the lowest numbers, and Hobart had the highest number for instant coffee.
For fresh coffee, Sydney was the highest at 43%, and Melbourne was close behind at 42%. Brisbane and Adelaide were both the lowest, at 34%. For cafe visits, Melbourne was highest at 73%, followed by Hobart at 72% and Sydney at 71%, while Adelaide was the lowest at 50%.
For instant coffee, Hobart had the highest number, at 54%, even though it also had a high number for cafe visits. Brisbane and Adelaide also had fairly high numbers for instant coffee, at 52% and 50%. This suggests that in cities where fewer people buy fresh coffee, instant coffee tends to make up a larger share of what people drink at home instead.
Examiner Notes
Task Achievement: Reports all three charts' figures accurately with a basic overview, but the overview does not explicitly flag Hobart's unusual combination of high cafe attendance and high instant coffee use.
Coherence & Cohesion: Clearly organised by chart, though figures are listed with fairly plain connecting language throughout.
Lexical Resource: Adequate range for the task; figures are accurate but connecting language stays fairly plain throughout.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Generally accurate, mostly simple sentence structures; meaning is always clear.
Band 6.5
157 wordsThe figures are all correct, but agreement errors appear in almost every sentence.
The bar chart give information about coffee and tea buying and drinking habit in five Australian city.
Overall, Sydney and Melbourne have highest number for fresh coffee and cafe visit, while Adelaide usually have lowest number, and Hobart have highest number for instant coffee.
For fresh coffee, Sydney was highest at 43%, and Melbourne was close behind at 42%. Brisbane and Adelaide was both lowest, at 34%. For cafe visit, Melbourne was highest at 73%, followed by Hobart at 72% and Sydney at 71%, while Adelaide was lowest at 50%.
For instant coffee, Hobart have highest number, at 54%, even though it also have high number for cafe visit. Brisbane and Adelaide also have fairly high number for instant coffee, at 52% and 50%. This suggest that in city where fewer people buy fresh coffee, instant coffee tend to make up larger share of what people drink at home instead. This pattern appear clearly in the chart.
Examiner Notes
Task Achievement: Reports all three charts' figures accurately, matching the content of the band 7 answer.
Coherence & Cohesion: Clearly organised by chart, following the same structure as the higher-band answers.
Lexical Resource: Limited by "city" and "habit" being used without their plural forms throughout.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Frequent subject-verb agreement errors ("chart give", "Sydney and Melbourne have highest number", "Adelaide was both lowest") appear in nearly every sentence.
Band 4-5 - What to Avoid
41 wordsA whole chart is missing entirely, and it closes with a personal opinion rather than reporting the data.
This chart show coffee and tea habit in five city.
Sydney and Melbourne like fresh coffee most. Hobart like instant coffee most.
I think people in Australia like coffee very much, more than tea, this is my opinion about this topic.
Examiner Notes
Task Achievement: The cafe-visits chart is never mentioned at all, exact figures are missing for Brisbane and Adelaide, and the closing comment is a personal opinion that has no place in a Task 1 report. At well under 150 words, the response is also underlength.
Coherence & Cohesion: Reads as three short, disconnected remarks rather than an organised comparison across the three charts.
Lexical Resource: Vague, repetitive vocabulary ("like most") used instead of the specific percentages given in the charts.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Frequent errors throughout ("chart show", "Sydney and Melbourne like fresh coffee most").
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Sign Up Free →These sample answers are written independently for Prep IELTS Now to illustrate real band-score differences. They are a study aid, not official Cambridge or IELTS material.