Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-10-15

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 had visited Caryl Island from the year 2000 to 2008.

Overall,the number of first time visitors were firstly declined but later it followed the inclined trend.Meanwhile,the returning visitors were intiallly increasing but the it followed a slight decrease.

Intially,in 2000,the first time visitors to the Island were at 8000 pr annum.But,in 2002,the number declined and came at 4000 tourists.After that year,tourism followed a great increase and till 2008 it was projected to just under 12000 first time tourists per annum.

On the other hand,returning visitors were at a number of 2300 from the island, but it followed a great incline and came at the number of 10000,in the year 2002.Till 2006,returning tourists were increasing and were projected at a number between 14000 to 16000 tourists per annum.Later from that year,in 2008,returning visitors were declined and fall at the number 14000 visitors.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify both visitor groups and give a relevant overview: first-time visits fall before rising, while returning visits rise and then decline. Most figures broadly match the graph, including the first-time low of 4,000 in 2002 and the returning-visitor peak around 2006. However, the overview is brief, and some comparisons could be clearer: returning visitors outnumber first-time visitors from 2002 onward, while first-time visitors finish below the returning total. The 2000 returning figure is closer to 3,000 than 2,300, and the 2008 figure is about 13,400 rather than 14,000, though these are approximate readings. The response is also five words below the 150-word minimum; the ten words copied from the prompt do not count. Develop the key comparisons and add a little more precise reporting.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an introduction and overview to separate descriptions of first-time and returning visitors. Phrases such as “Overall” and “On the other hand” help signal the stages and contrast between the series. The progression is generally understandable, but cohesion is sometimes mechanical or unclear. For example, “After that year, tourism followed a great increase” does not clearly identify which visitor group is meant, and “Later from that year” is an awkward transition. Several sentences also join multiple time points and changes without clear punctuation. Use more precise references to each series and connect the data in a smoother sequence, grouping comparable years where possible.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic vocabulary to communicate the main trends, including “declined,” “increase,” and “returning visitors.” There are also attempts to vary wording with “inclined trend” and “projected,” but these choices are not natural for describing a line graph: “rose” or “increased” is more suitable, and “stood at” is preferable to “were projected at” when reporting observed figures. Repetition of “number” and “great” limits precision, while spelling errors such as “intiallly” and “Intially” are noticeable. Aim for accurate, conventional trend language and check spelling carefully. Stronger collocations will make the description clearer without requiring unusually advanced vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, and the reader can generally follow the main changes. However, some errors in agreement, tense, articles, and sentence construction remain. For example, “the number of first time visitors were” should use a singular verb (“was”), while “it followed a slight decrease” has an unclear reference. In “returning visitors were declined and fall,” the passive form and tense are incorrect; use “the number of returning visitors declined and fell.” Commas are also often attached to the following word, as in “Overall,the” and “2002,the.” These issues do not prevent understanding, but more consistent control of verb forms and punctuation is needed. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and vary sentence patterns while checking each clause.

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