Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-22
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 graph illustrate about the number of tourists visiting in a Caribbean island from 2010 to 2017.
Overall, the number of visitors increased over the year. In 20217 there were the highest number of visitors, while at the starting there were less visitors. Most of the visitors stayed on the cruise ship, while some stayed on island.
In 2010, there were almost 1 million visitors on the island. Among them around 0.3 million visitors stayed on cruise ship and almost 1.3 million visitors stayed on island, which was more than the cruise ship. The numbers of staying on island increased rapidly and at the end of 2014 it reached to 1.5 million visitors, while the number of straying on cruise ship declined first then it started increasing from 2013. At the end of 2014 almost 1 million visitors started staying on cruise ship.
On the other hand, after 2014 the image full changed. The number of staying on island started decline, while the number of staying on cruise ship increased rapidly. In 2015, 1.3 million visitors started staying on cruise ship and 1.4 million peopled stayed on island. At the end of 2017 only 1.5 million visitors stayed on island and almost 2 million visitors stayed on cruise ship among 3.5 million visitors, which is the most visiting number of the history.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
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 key features, such as the overall increase in visitor numbers and the shift in preference between cruise ship and island stays. However, there are some inaccuracies in your data reporting. For instance, you mention 1 million visitors in 2010, but the graph shows a total of 1.5 million (0.5 million cruise and 1 million island). Additionally, the year '20217' is a clear typo. To improve, ensure you carefully cross-reference your figures with the graph to avoid misinterpretation, as accuracy is vital for this task.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the progression of the data. You use some cohesive devices like 'Overall', 'In 2010', and 'On the other hand' to transition between ideas. However, the flow is occasionally hindered by awkward phrasing, such as 'the image full changed' and 'at the starting'. While the paragraphing is appropriate, the use of cohesive devices could be more varied and sophisticated to better link the sentences within paragraphs. Improving your control over referencing and transition words will help create a smoother, more professional narrative.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to describe trends like 'increased rapidly' and 'declined'. However, there are several instances of unnatural word choice and collocation errors, such as 'the number of staying on island' instead of 'the number of island-based visitors' or 'the number of people staying on the island'. You also use 'peopled' incorrectly. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise terminology for data description and ensure that your collocations are natural. Expanding your range of synonyms for 'increase' and 'decrease' would also be beneficial.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but the response contains frequent grammatical errors. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('The graph illustrate'), article usage ('on a Caribbean island'), and prepositional errors ('at the starting'). There are also issues with word order and sentence construction, such as 'which is the most visiting number of the history'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to distract the reader. Focusing on basic sentence construction and proofreading for subject-verb agreement will significantly improve your score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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