Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-03
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 5.0)
The line graph illustrates the number of tourists visiting a particular Caribbean island between 2010 and 2017, including visitors staying on cruise ships and visitors staying on island.
Overall, the total number of tourists has been increased significantly. While number of tourists staying on cruise ships rose steadily, before remaining stable, the figure for tourists staying on island rose steadily before reaching its peak.
In 2010, the island received 1 million tourists, including about 0.75 million in tourists in staying on island, and about 0.3 million in tourists staying on island.
By 2013 the total number of tourists surged to 2 million, including a considerable growth in tourists staying on cruise ships approximately 1 million and tourists staying on island climbed to 1.5 million.
After 2013, tourists staying on beach levelled of at 1.5 million till 2015, in contrast tourists staying on cruise ships rose sharply reaching around 2 million in 2017.
Consequently, total number of tourist reached at 3.5 million in 2017, including tourists staying on island peaked at 1.5 by the end of 2017, and tourists staying on cruise ships rocketed to 2 million in 2017.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response covers the main features of the graph, including the overall trend and specific data points for both categories. However, there are significant inaccuracies in the data reporting. For instance, you state that in 2010, the island received 1 million tourists, with 0.75 million and 0.3 million staying on the island; these figures do not add up to 1 million. Furthermore, you mention 'tourists staying on beach' in the fifth paragraph, which is not a category defined in the prompt. While the main trends are identified, the lack of precision in data interpretation and the inclusion of incorrect categories prevent a higher score.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, moving from an overview to specific data points. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'While', 'In 2010', and 'Consequently' are used to link ideas. However, the flow is occasionally disrupted by awkward phrasing and repetitive sentence structures. The referencing is sometimes unclear, particularly when discussing the categories of tourists. Paragraphing is present, but the transition between the overview and the body paragraphs could be smoother to improve the overall progression of information.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'surged', 'levelled off', 'sharply', and 'rocketed'. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'tourists in staying on island' and 'total number of tourist reached at'. The repetition of 'tourists staying on island' and 'tourists staying on cruise ships' throughout the text indicates a limited ability to use synonyms or more sophisticated paraphrasing techniques to maintain interest and precision.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Common issues include missing articles ('number of tourists'), incorrect preposition usage ('reached at'), and subject-verb agreement errors ('total number of tourists has been increased'). While the meaning is generally conveyed, the frequency of these errors is high. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction and ensuring that verb tenses are used consistently when describing past trends.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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