Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-27

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 figures of millions of visitors visiting Caribbean Island, staying on cruise ships and on island and the total visitors between 2010 and 2017.

Overall, the total visitors visiting Caribbean Island throughout the period have increased substantially. While the tourist staying on the land rose subsequently, whereas recording the lowest number of visitors at the end of the period. In contrast, tourist staying on cruise ships shown a minimal drop after a slight rise, however, it rose drastically throughout the period.

In 2010, the Caribbean Island accounted for the total of 1 million visitors, while 0.75 millions of people visiting the island choose to stay on island, whereas only 0.25 million visitors stayed on cruise ships. Tourists preferring Cruise ship increased to 0.5 million in 2011 and figures remain same for people choosing island at 0.75 million, totally around 1.25 million in 2011, which rose to 1.5 million in 2012, cruise ships became less preferred dropping to 0.25, however, figure of staying on island rose to 1.25 million.

However, tourist preferring cruise ships drastically rose to 1.5 million in 2016, whereas staying on island fell approximately 1.4 million. Staying on Caribbean Island cruise ships became much famous, it shown a steady rise touching 2 million and visitors staying on island started to fell after a small rise to 1.5 million visitors.

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 all categories (total visitors, cruise ship, and island stays) and made relevant comparisons. However, there are some inaccuracies in your reporting of the data; for instance, you mention a 'minimal drop' for cruise ships, but the graph shows a more complex pattern, and some of your specific figures (e.g., '1.5 million in 2016') do not align precisely with the visual data provided. To reach a higher band, ensure that your data points are transcribed with greater accuracy and that your summary highlights the most significant changes more clearly.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas from the overview to the specific details. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'In contrast', 'However', and 'while', to link your sentences. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly repetitive. Additionally, the referencing is occasionally unclear, particularly in the third and fourth paragraphs where the transition between different categories of visitors feels abrupt. Improving the variety of your linking words and ensuring smoother transitions between sentences would enhance the overall flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'substantially', 'drastically', and 'accounted for'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choices and collocations, such as 'figures of millions of visitors' (instead of 'visitor numbers') and 'cruise ships became much famous' (instead of 'became more popular'). There are also some minor errors in word form, such as 'tourist staying' instead of 'tourists staying'. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and ensure that your vocabulary is used in a natural, idiomatic way.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is good. However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including issues with subject-verb agreement ('tourist staying... rose', 'figure... rose'), missing articles ('on island' instead of 'on the island'), and tense inconsistencies. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to distract the reader. To improve, pay closer attention to basic grammatical rules such as pluralization, article usage, and consistent tense application when describing past data.

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