Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)
The given chart describes the change in number of different category of travellers going to a specific Caribbean island from year 2010 until 2017.
At first We can see that total number of visitors have always been higher during whole mentioned period starting from exactly 1 Million in 2010 reaching all the way upto 3.5 Million in 2017. If we look at travellers staying on the island they were between 0.5 Million to 1 Million at the start with surge in their numbers in 2011 reaching 1.5 Million in 2013 staying contstant next three years then fell short to just above 1 Million in 2016 and increase in 2017 to same count as 2013. Next the visitors staying on cruise ships had least count in 2010 below Half Million jumped to that in 2011 but saw fluctuation during 2012 and 2013 and then gradually started to increase from 2013 falling at 2 Million in 2017 more then those staying on the island which is quite surprising.
Overall total population of visitors has always been high where as tgise staying on cruise ships increase significantly with the passage of time similar to others staying on island which couldn't get higher mark than 1.5 Million.
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 all parts of the task well, providing an overview and selecting key data points to report and compare. The student successfully identifies the overall upward trend of total visitors, starting at 1 million in 2010 and reaching 3.5 million in 2017. They also describe the distinct trajectories of visitors staying on the island versus those on cruise ships. However, there are some inaccuracies in reading the data; for instance, the writer states that island visitors were between 0.5 and 1 million at the start, whereas the graph indicates 0.75 million, and they state cruise ship visitors fell at 2 million in 2017 when the graph shows them at 2 million. Additionally, the overview is slightly informal ('total population of visitors') but captures the main trends effectively, earning a solid Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response has a clear overall arrangement and attempts to organise information logically by category and trend. However, paragraphing is poorly handled, with the main body squeezed into one massive, dense block of text, and the conclusion merged improperly or lacking distinct separation. Cohesive devices are somewhat repetitive and mechanical (e.g., 'At first', 'If we look at', 'Next the visitors', 'Overall total population'), and referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the run-on sentences listing multiple data points without adequate punctuation or transition. These cohesion flaws prevent the response from achieving a higher score, placing it firmly at Band 5.5.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting some less common words and phrases such as 'surge', 'fluctuation', and 'gradually started to increase'. However, there are notable word choice errors and awkward collocations, such as 'fell short to just above 1 Million', 'least count', and 'tgise staying on cruise ships'. Spelling errors like 'contstant' and 'increase' (used as a noun where 'an increase' is needed) also occur. While communication is not impeded, the frequent lexical inaccuracies and lack of precision restrict the score to a Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar and punctuation is weak. The text contains several run-on sentences, missing articles (e.g., 'with surge in their numbers', 'with time similar to others'), and punctuation omissions (such as missing commas and periods, creating very long, breathless sentences). Capitalisation errors also appear, such as 'We can see'. Although the meaning remains understandable, the high frequency of grammatical errors and lack of punctuation mean the text falls short of Band 6.0, warranting a Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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