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 number of visitors who's visiting a particular Caribbean island between 2010 and 2017.
Overall, the total number of visitors increased significantly and became the highest category throughout the period while, the visitors staying on island increased gradually however, it declined at the end and became the lowest category. In contrast, visitors staying on cruise ships showed up ward trend and overtook the second category.
In 2010, total number of visitors recorded at 1 million, however, it is increased steadily at around 2.6 millions between 2011 and 2016. Also it is grew sharply and hit the peak of graph at the end of the period at axactly 3.5 millions in 2017.
In 2010, the number of visitors staying on island stood at around 0.7 million compared with visitors stying on cruise ships at just around 0.3 million. following the trend, both are increased gradually at 1.5 million and around 1.3 million respectively between 2011 and 2015. However the visitors staying on cruise ships overtook the number of visitors staying on island and reach to 2 millions in 2017. While visitors staying in island fell slightly to around 0.3 million however, it also showed up ward trend in the end of the period in 2017.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features, trends, and comparisons across the given time period. An overview is successfully provided in the second paragraph, outlining the overall upward trajectories and category shifts. Key data points are generally accurate, such as stating that the total reached 3.5 million in 2017 and noting the crossover between cruise ship visitors and island stay visitors. However, there are some inaccuracies in minor data reporting and reading of the graph, such as stating the total in 2010 was 1 million when it started at 1 million overall but the breakdown was 0.75 and 0.25, and describing minor fluctuations incorrectly in the final paragraph. Nonetheless, the task is adequately addressed to meet Band 6.5 standards, leaning towards Band 6 for some minor data misinterpretations.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The response is logically organised with a clear introduction, an overall summary paragraph, and two body paragraphs detailing the specific trends. Cohesive devices are used to link ideas, such as "Overall," "In contrast," and "However." Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the overview from the detailed body points. However, referencing and cohesion occasionally feel somewhat mechanical or repetitive (e.g., starting multiple sentences with temporal markers like "In 2010,"). Progression is clear overall, but the logical flow within the final paragraph is slightly disjointed when describing the fluctuations of island-stay visitors.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for an academic task, attempting functional phrases such as "increased significantly," "gradually," "up ward trend," and "hit the peak." However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as spelling "upward" as two words ("up ward"), "axactly" instead of "exactly," and awkward phrasing like "reach to 2 millions." Less common lexical items are attempted but lack precision. The vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main points, but errors in spelling and word formation keep the score at Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and comparative structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. For instance, the opening sentence contains a tense and subject-verb agreement error ("visitors who's visiting"). Other errors include tense inconsistencies ("is increased steadily," "is grew sharply," "both are increased") and prepositional mistakes ("reach to"). While these errors do not completely obscure the message, their frequency prevents the writer from achieving a higher band score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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