Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-17
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 information about tourists visiting a particular caribbean island from 2010 to 2017.
Overall, there was a substantial growth in total number of visitors on caribbean island throughout the years, while the amount of visitors staying on cruise ships also increased and tourists staying on island showed fluctuations.
In 2010, the number of tourists staying on ships was lowest among all with only 0.25 million visitors, which rose to 0.5 in 2011 and this continued to show variations till 2013. After that, it started to increase further in all the years till 2017 and reaching the amount of 2 million visitors staying on cruise ships.
On the other hand, visitors on island had value o.27 in 2010, which reamained the same in next year. However, it climbed to 1.5 million in 2013 and remained stable till 2015. In the nexy year 2016, it again fell slightly, but recovered in next year 2018 by attaining 1.5 million visitors.
The total number of visitors was highest among all from the begining having 1 million touri
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 student successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features, trends, and comparisons across the categories provided in the line graph. The overview clearly highlights the overall growth in total visitors alongside the differing trajectories of cruise ship and island-stay tourists. However, there are some data inaccuracies and misreadings in the body paragraphs. For instance, the student states that visitors staying on the island had a value of 'o.27 in 2010', whereas the chart indicates 0.75 million. Additionally, the final sentence cuts off mid-word ('touri'), and there is a chronological error mentioning '2018' when the graph ends in 2017. Despite these flaws, the response provides a clear summary with relevant data points.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is arranged logically into an introduction, an overview, and separate body paragraphs addressing the different tourist categories. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'In 2010', 'After that', and 'On the other hand' are used to guide the reader through the data. However, referencing and paragraph flow are sometimes hindered by mechanical transitions and occasional repetition. Paragraphing is present, but the abrupt cut-off at the end of the text disrupts the overall structural completeness. Progression is generally evident, but the lack of a smooth concluding sentence detracts from the coherence of the final section.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, with attempts to use appropriate terms related to data reporting such as 'substantial growth', 'fluctuations', 'rose', and 'stable'. However, there are noticeable lexical and typographical errors, such as 'caribbean' (uncapitalized), 'value o.27' (typographical error), and awkward phrasing like 'reaching the amount of 2 million visitors'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with limited precision and occasional word-choice inaccuracies. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the general meaning, these persistent errors prevent the response from achieving a higher band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as relative clauses ('tourists staying on island showed fluctuations') and subordinate time clauses. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are errors in prepositions and articles, such as 'total number of visitors' missing the article 'the', and tense inconsistencies like 'which reamained the same in next year'. Punctuation and spelling errors also occur, such as 'reamained', 'nexy', and the incomplete final sentence. These errors require some effort from the reader to parse, placing the response firmly in the band 5.5 range.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.