Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-09-22

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The line graph shows the number of first time visitors and returning visitors who visited Caryl Island from 2000 to 2008.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The line graph shows the number of first time visitors and returning visitors who visited Caryl Island from 2000 to 2008.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The line graph illustrates the number of first time visitors and returning visitors who visited the Caryl Island in years 2000 to 2008. There are two lines- blue line representing first time visitors while red line showing the number of returning visitors.

Tne number of fisrt time visitors were 8000 in year 2000, which falls to 4000 in year 2002- which is the minimum amount of first time visitors recorded during the given period of time. Afterwards, the number starts rising gradually and reported as 12000 visitors, the highest number, who visited the Caryl Island in 2008.

In Contrast, the number of returning visitors was quite low at the start- reporting only 3000, in year 2000. But with the passage of time, the amount of returning visitors kept rising - never falling till year 2006 which recorded the figures of 15000. After the year 2006, the number of returning visitors dropped down a little to 13000 in the year 2008.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student covers all parts of the task well, providing an overview of the trends for both first-time and returning visitors to Caryl Island between 2000 and 2008. Key features are successfully identified and reported, such as the starting and ending points, as well as the lowest point for first-time visitors (4000 in 2002) and the peak for returning visitors (around 15000 in 2006). Data is generally cited accurately from the visual source. However, the response lacks a clear, cohesive overall summary paragraph at the beginning or end that synthesises the main broader trends, which prevents it from achieving a higher band. Nevertheless, the main features are sufficiently selected and compared.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is arranged coherently with a logical progression of ideas, separating the two visitor categories into distinct developmental paragraphs following an introductory sentence. Cohesive devices such as 'In Contrast' and 'Afterwards' are used to signal transitions and relationships between ideas, though referencing and paragraphing can sometimes feel slightly mechanical. The introduction is broken awkwardly into two very short sentences, and the overall progression could be smoother. However, the information is generally easy to follow, meeting the criteria for a band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common lexical items and collocations such as 'minimum amount', 'rising gradually', and 'dropped down a little'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'Tne' instead of 'The' and 'fisrt' instead of 'first'. Furthermore, repetitive phrasing like 'number of returning visitors' and 'number of first time visitors' limits the lexical score. While communication is not impeded, these vocabulary errors and lack of sophisticated phrasing place the response securely at a band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and temporal clauses (e.g., 'which falls to 4000 in year 2002- which is the minimum amount...'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('Tne number of fisrt time visitors were...'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with dashes used incorrectly or awkwardly. Despite these errors, the structures used do not impede overall comprehension, and there are enough error-free simple sentences to support a band 6.0.

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

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