Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-11-13

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The graph below shows the number of tourists visiting a particular Caribbean island between 2010 and 2017.

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

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The line graph illustrates the individuals explore the Caribbean island between 2010 and 2017.

Overall, for the tourists who were staying on the cruise ships were lowest in the year 2012 while, in 2017 it rose to highest. On the contrary, tourists staying on island were shown consistant.

Initially, in the year 2010, individuals who stayed on the cruise ships were just above 0 while, those stayed on the island were bwtween 0.5 to 1 and total tourests were exact 1. Individuals stayed on cruise got were not stable between 2010 to 2013 while, staying on island got sky rocked to 1.5 millions of visitors and total were recorded 2 millions.

Lastly, tourists who stayed on cruise ships sky rocked to 1 millions visitors on the contary, tourists who stayed on island remained constant till 2015 and total tourists rose to 2.5 millions. In 2016 individuals stayed on island got plunged to just above 1 and staying to cruise got incresed to 1.5. Additionally, in 2017, total visitors got increase to 3.5 millions of visitors and staying on cruise ships rose to 2 and stayed on island declined to 1.5 millions of visitors.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the overall rise in total visitors and note that cruise-ship numbers reached their highest point in 2017, while island stays were comparatively stable. Several key figures are also broadly accurate, including the total of 1 million in 2010 and 3.5 million in 2017. However, the overview is incomplete: it does not clearly state that the total increased throughout the period, or that cruise-ship visitors overtook island visitors by 2017. Some details are unclear or inaccurate; for example, island visitors did not decline in 2017, but rose from about 1.25 million to 1.5 million. The account also jumps between years and leaves some trends underdeveloped. Select the main comparisons and report them in a clearer, more accurate sequence.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has an opening, an overview, and paragraphs describing figures, so there is some organisation. Time markers such as “Initially,” “Lastly,” and “in 2017” help the reader follow the period. However, the progression is not consistently clear: the account moves from 2010–2013 to 2014–2015 and then back to 2016, and several sentences combine multiple trends without clear relationships. Connectors such as “while” and “on the contrary” are repeated or used awkwardly, and the reference in “those stayed on the island” is not fully clear. Group the information chronologically or by visitor type, and use linking phrases only where they accurately show a contrast or continuation.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “tourists,” “visitors,” “total,” and “remained constant,” and you attempt to describe movement with words such as “rose” and “declined.” However, the range is limited and several choices are inaccurate or informal for a data report. “Individuals explore” does not naturally describe tourist numbers, while “sky rocked” is an unsuitable expression for a sharp increase; “plunged” also exaggerates the modest fall in island visitors in 2016. Spelling errors such as “consistant,” “tourests,” and “incresed” are noticeable. Use precise chart language consistently, for example “the number of visitors,” “increased steadily,” and “fell slightly,” and check spelling before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including clauses linked with “while,” “while” and “Additionally.” However, grammatical errors are frequent and sometimes make relationships between ideas difficult to follow. Examples include “for the tourists who were staying … were lowest,” where the sentence structure is incomplete, and “those stayed on the island,” which needs a relative clause such as “those who stayed.” Verb forms and agreement are also unreliable in phrases such as “total tourists rose” and “total visitors got increase.” Articles and prepositions are often missing or awkward, as in “staying on island.” Practise building accurate subject–verb sentences first, then add subordinate clauses, and check tense consistency and punctuation in each sentence.

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