Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-14
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 data illustrates the number of visitors who visit to a Caribbean island from 2010 to 2017.
Overall, it can be seen that the total number of tourists increased considerably throughtout the period. While the number of visitors staying on the island fluctuated.
Moving into more details, the number of visitors staying on cruise ships increased from 0.3 million to 0.5 million in 2011, then faced slight fall, it experienced rapid growth from 2012 and reported as 2 million in 2017. Moreover, the number of tourists staying on cruise ships underwent significant fluctuations, it remained constant until 2011 then went through a rise from 0.5 million to 1.5 million in 2013. Between 2013 and 2015, it was plateaued. Afterthat, it declined by 0.3 million in 2016 and then accounted for 1.5 million again in 2017.
Furthermore, the total number of tourists experienced increasing trend, except downfall in 2016. Lastly, at 3.5 million in 2017.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers the main features of the graph, outlining the general upward trend in visitor numbers and noting key data points for the two categories of tourists between 2010 and 2017. However, there are notable confusions in the reporting of the data categories. For instance, the text twice refers to tourists staying on cruise ships while seemingly attempting to describe two separate categories (such as cruise ship visitors and those staying on the island). Additionally, the concluding sentence is a fragment ('Lastly, at 3.5 million in 2017.'), which detracts from the overall task completion. Nevertheless, an overview is provided, and key comparisons are attempted, placing the performance within the Band 5.5 to 6.0 range. Due to the under-developed and occasionally contradictory category descriptions, it aligns best with Band 5.5.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response attempts a logical structure with a clear introduction, overview, body paragraphs, and a brief conclusion. Paragraphing is used adequately to separate different aspects of the data. However, cohesive devices and transitions are sometimes awkward or repetitive, such as 'Moving into more details', 'Afterthat', and 'Furthermore'. Furthermore, referencing is confused in the body paragraphs where the same phrase ('tourists staying on cruise ships') is used repeatedly for contrasting trends, making the logical progression difficult to follow at times. These cohesive flaws and mechanical transitions prevent the text from achieving a higher band score, placing it comfortably at Band 5.5.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms related to data trends such as 'increased considerably', 'fluctuated', 'rapid growth', and 'declined'. However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and spelling errors, such as 'throughtout' instead of 'throughout', 'Afterthat', and the repetitive confusion of data categories ('tourists staying on cruise ships' used incorrectly). Less common lexical items are attempted but lack precision and natural collocation. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the basic message, the frequency of word choice errors and spelling slips keeps the score at Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'While the number of visitors staying on the island fluctuated' and 'the number of visitors staying on cruise ships increased from 0.3 million to 0.5 million in 2011, then faced slight fall'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, including missing articles ('faced slight fall', 'experienced increasing trend'), incorrect verb forms ('who visit to'), and a major punctuation/sentence boundary error with a sentence fragment at the end ('Lastly, at 3.5 million in 2017.'). These errors occasionally cause difficulty for the reader, placing the grammar performance at Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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