Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-12

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 given graph represents number of tourists travelling to Caribbean Island between 2010 to 2017.

The total number of visitors have drastically rose starting from 1 million in 2010 to 3.5 million in 2017 which shows that the amount of travelers increased 1 million in every 2 years. Furthermore, Number of visitors that stayed on cruise were nearly 0.25 million in 2010 which went quarter of a million up and down till 2013 and later went up till 2 million in 2017. Additionally, Amount of visitors that stayed on island in the mentioned years started from less than a million and stayed the same till the next year which then increased half a million followed by quarter a million and remained constant for three years. Later on in 2016, number of visitors staying on island decreased to 1.25 million and again went up to 1.5 million.

In conclusion, total number of visitors have increased throughout the years whereas travelers staying on cruise and island have observed minor fluctuations.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have successfully identified the main trends and provided a clear overview of the data. You covered the total number of visitors as well as the two sub-categories (cruise and island). However, the description of the data is occasionally imprecise. For example, stating that the number of visitors increased by '1 million in every 2 years' is a mathematical oversimplification that does not accurately reflect the specific year-on-year changes shown in the graph. To improve, ensure that your reporting of figures is precise and that you highlight the most significant data points, such as the crossover point or the final figures in 2017, more clearly.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore', 'Additionally', and 'In conclusion' to link your ideas. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the paragraphing is underdeveloped; the body of the report would benefit from being split into two distinct paragraphs—one for the total figures and one for the comparison between cruise and island visitors. This would improve the overall structure and readability of your response.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision required for a higher band. You rely on repetitive phrasing such as 'number of visitors' and 'went up'. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'went quarter of a million up and down', which is not standard academic English. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more varied reporting verbs (e.g., 'surged', 'fluctuated', 'remained stable') and more precise nouns to describe the data trends.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. For instance, 'The total number of visitors have drastically rose' contains a subject-verb agreement error ('has' instead of 'have') and an incorrect verb form ('risen' instead of 'rose'). Additionally, there are missing articles throughout the text, such as 'travelling to Caribbean Island' (should be 'the Caribbean Island') and 'stayed on cruise' (should be 'stayed on a cruise'). Focusing on basic subject-verb agreement and article usage will significantly improve your accuracy.

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

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