Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-15

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 number of tourist who visited the caribbean island between 2010 and 2017.

Overall, it can be seen that total 3.5 millions tourists visited on island in 2017, which was the highest ever. Whereas, only 1 millions tourists visited in 2010. Moreover, 2 millions tourists stayed in cruise ships and 1.5 millions visitors stayed on island in 2017.

In 2010, total 1 millions tourists went to caribbean island and 0.75 millions stayed on island, whereas others 0.25 millions stayed on cruise ships. After 2 years, the number increased consistently and rose to 1.5 million total in 2012. 1.25 millions of tourists stayed island on that time and just only 0.25 millions are on the cruise ships on that year.

After that, the tourist number increased in a consistent basis and reached to 3.5 millions in 2017. In addition, visitors who stayed in island number also climbed to 1.5 millions, whereas on that time more people loved to stayed on cruise ships and the number increased rapidly at 2 millions in 2017.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features and making relevant comparisons between the categories of visitors from 2010 to 2017. The overview is clearly stated in the second paragraph, capturing the overall total and final figures accurately. Key data points, such as the total reaching 3.5 million in 2017 and the breakdown between cruise ship visitors and those staying on the island, are correctly cited from the graph. While some specific intermediate years like 2013 or 2014 are omitted, the overall progression and key highs and lows are sufficiently covered, aligning well with the Band 6 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is arranged coherently with a logical overall progression from the introduction to the overview and body paragraphs. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different sections of the data. However, cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'After that' and 'In addition'. Referencing is generally clear, but transitions between sentences occasionally feel abrupt, which places this text solidly within the Band 6 descriptor range for cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms like 'illustrates', 'overall', and 'tourists'. However, there are notable lexical and grammatical inaccuracies, such as 'number of tourist' (tourists), 'millions tourists' (million tourists), and 'visited on island' (visited the island). Less common vocabulary is attempted with mixed success, and awkward collocations like 'loved to stayed' appear, which limits the lexical score to a Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The text contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some attempt at variety with clauses introduced by 'whereas' and 'which was'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with plurals and quantifiers ('3.5 millions tourists', '1 millions tourists', '1.25 millions of tourists'), prepositions ('stayed island on that time'), and verb forms ('are on the cruise ships'). These errors occasionally cause slight awkwardness for the reader, fitting the Band 5.5 criteria.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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