Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-16
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 caribbean island between the year 2010 and 2017. Units are measured in millions.
Overall, the visitors staying on cruise ships rose despite the fluctuations. While vistors staying on island also rose despite the fluctuations but stays same where it was before.
0.3 millions visitors stay on cruise ships in the year 2010 which was the lowest at that time. Likewise, 0.7 millions visitors stay on island in the same year. When the number visitors staying on cruise ships were at their lowest it rose to 1 millions visitor despite the fluctuations in the year 2014 and it gradually increase to 2 millions visitor by the year 2017 which was the highest.
On the other hand, the number of visitors staying on island rose to 1.5 millions visitor in the year 2013 and stays same in the following year 2014 and 2015. However there were decrease in visitors in year 2016 but it again rose to 1.5 millions visitor by the year 2017. Lastly, the total number of visitors staying on both cruise ships and island rose from 1 millions visitor to 3.5 millions visitor by the year 2017.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The student attempts to cover the main features of the graph, including starting points, key trends, and final figures for both categories and the total. However, there are notable inaccuracies in reading the data, such as stating that '0.3 millions visitors stay on cruise ships in the year 2010' (the actual figure is around 0.25 million) and minor confusions in trends. The overview is overly simplistic ('vistors staying on island also rose despite the fluctuations but stays same where it was before'). While all parts of the prompt are addressed, the execution is hampered by imprecise data reporting and a weak overview. This performance fits the Band 5 to Band 6 range, leaning towards Band 5.5 due to inaccuracies in data extraction.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The response is structured into four paragraphs, following a logical layout with an introduction, an overview, and separate body paragraphs for each category. However, cohesion is often faulty and mechanical. The use of transitional phrases like 'On the other hand' and 'Lastly' is somewhat repetitive. There is a lack of sophisticated cohesive devices, and referencing can be unclear. Paragraphing is attempted, but the logical progression between sentences is occasionally disrupted by awkward phrasing, such as 'When the number visitors staying on cruise ships were at their lowest it rose to 1 millions visitor'. This level of organisation aligns with Band 5.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, frequently reusing terms such as 'visitors', 'rose', 'fluctuations', and 'millions'. There are noticeable word-form and grammatical collocation errors regarding plurals and numbers, such as writing '0.3 millions visitors stay' instead of '0.3 million visitors stayed' and '1 millions visitor' instead of '1 million visitors'. The range of vocabulary is limited to simple descriptions of upward and downward movements, lacking flexibility or precision. This demonstrates a Band 5 lexical resource.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms (using clauses with 'while', 'when', and 'despite'), but these attempts are frequently marred by grammatical errors. Issues include subject-verb agreement problems ('stays same', 'visitor stay') and tense inconsistencies ('stay', 'were', 'rose', 'increase'). Punctuation is basic, and missing articles or incorrect pluralisation ('0.3 millions visitors stay') occur frequently. Although communication is generally maintained, the frequency of errors places this response firmly in Band 5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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