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 line graph illustrates the amount of visitors visiting a Caribbean island between 2010 and 2017.
Overall, the total number of visitors show a significant growth over the time period. While proportion of visitors staying on the island increase at first but sharp decrease in its value.
Initially, the amount of total visitors grew steadily from 1 million in 2010 to 3.5 million in 2017.
Visitors staying on the ship grew much faster than those staying on the island and peaked at 2015 which was approximately 1.5 million. In 2016 its proportion gradually decrease to 1.3 million but in 2017 its value peaked at 1 million.
Visitors staying on the island was the most common and popular amoung the visitors at 0.75 million in 2010. From 2010 to 2013 it rose steadily to 1.5 million. While in 2016 it dropped slightly to 1.3 million before recovering to 1.5 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 | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response successfully covers all main parts of the prompt by summarizing the data and reporting key features and comparisons. The student identifies the overall growth trend and differentiates between total visitors, those staying on the island, and those staying on the ship. Key figures are provided, such as total visitors growing from 1 million in 2010 to 3.5 million in 2017. However, there are some minor inaccuracies and confusion in reporting specific details, such as stating 'its value peaked at 1 million' for 2017 when describing ship visitors after previously mentioning a peak at 1.5 million. Furthermore, the phrasing 'amount of visitors' appears instead of 'number of visitors'. Despite these minor flaws, the overview is clear and the main trends are adequately highlighted, matching the requirements for a Band 6.0 performance.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The report demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the information into an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs detailing specific categories. Logical connectors and time markers such as 'Initially', 'While', and 'From 2010 to 2013' are used to sequence ideas. However, paragraphing is somewhat fragmented, and referencing or cohesive devices can feel mechanical or slightly faulty, as seen in the abrupt transition 'While proportion of visitors staying on the island increase at first but sharp decrease in its value.' Paragraph division could be handled more smoothly to group related trends together more effectively. Cohesion is sufficient to guide the reader through the text, placing this response firmly at Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, attempting less common lexical items such as 'significant growth', 'steadily', and 'recovering'. However, there are several noticeable inaccuracies in word choice and collocation. For instance, the phrase 'amount of visitors' is used instead of 'number of visitors', and phrases like 'gradually decrease' lack correct verb tense agreement ('decreased'). There are also awkward phrasings such as 'amoung the visitors'. While these vocabulary errors and limitations do not impede overall communication, they prevent the lexical score from reaching higher bands. The vocabulary range is minimally sufficient for a Band 6.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'While proportion of visitors staying on the island increase at first but sharp decrease in its value' and 'From 2010 to 2013 it rose steadily to 1.5 million.' There are, however, frequent grammatical errors, particularly with verb forms, subject-verb agreement, and missing articles. Examples include 'the total number of visitors show' (instead of 'shows'), 'proportion of visitors... increase' (instead of 'increased'), and 'Visitors staying on the island was' (instead of 'were'). Additionally, prepositional use can be awkward, as in 'peaked at 2015' (instead of 'in 2015'). These errors persist throughout the text, though they rarely impede the reader's ability to understand the general meaning, leading to a Band 5.5 score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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