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 given line chart illustrates the number of visitors travelled to a particular Caribbean island over the 8 years period (2010 - 2017). The chart shows the number of visitors who stayed on cruise ships, on island and total number of tourists. Total number of tourists show more than three fold increase. While, the people choosed to stay more in cruise ship rather than island at the end.

The total tourists who visited the island was at 1 million in 2010, rose steadily to 2.75 million in 2015, the number remained plateaue till 2016, then surged dramatically at 3.5 million in 2017.

The number of individuals who stayed on island was 0.75 million in 2010, then plateaued, shows no significant difference till 2011, slighlty grew at 1.5 millons in 2013, again remained stable over the two year of period, and remained at 1.5 million in 2017, after declining marginal in 2016 at around 1.25 million.

Staying on cuise ship was least preferable by visitors in 2010 and 2102 was at nearly 0.25 million, after growing in 2011, at 0.5 million, increase significantly thereafter and reached at 2 million till 2017.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the line chart, including the total number of tourists, those staying on the island, and those on cruise ships. Key data points and trends are accurately identified, such as the overall three-fold increase and the shift in preference by 2017. Comparisons are made where relevant, for instance, noting how cruise ship visitors ultimately overtook island stayers. The overview is clear and integrated well into the introduction, satisfying the core requirements of Task 1.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a clear logical organisation, grouping data into distinct categories across well-defined paragraphs. The progression of information is generally easy to follow, moving from total tourists to specific accommodation types. However, cohesion is occasionally mechanical or faulty, with awkward transitions such as 'While, the people choosed to stay more in cruise ship rather than island at the end.' Paragraphing is used appropriately, but referencing and linking could be smoother to achieve a higher band.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for describing trends, such as 'rose steadily,' 'plateaued,' 'surged dramatically,' and 'declining marginal.' However, there are notable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'visitors travelled' instead of 'visitors who travelled,' 'plateaue' (spelling), 'choosed' (form), and 'cuise ship' (spelling). Despite these inaccuracies, communication is not impeded, and the vocabulary is sufficient for the task.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The text demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are several grammatical errors throughout the response, including tense confusion ('2102 was at nearly'), incorrect verb forms ('people choosed to stay'), and punctuation issues. For example, sentences are sometimes awkwardly punctuated, such as 'rose steadily to 2.75 million in 2015, the number remained plateaue till 2016,' which creates comma splices. These errors restrict the score to a Band 5.5.

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