Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-19
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)
This line graph illustrates number of different tourists visiting in Caribbean island from 2010 to 2017. There are three different types of tourists visit in island.
Initially, 0.7 million visitors staying on island in [redacted phone] there is no change in this year, but 2011 to 2013 it will gradually increase and up to 1.5 million and stable in two years. After 2015, it will again drop to 1.3 million in 2016, then again growth to 1.5 million in 2017. While 2010, Visitor staying on cruise ships are 0.25 million and rise up to 0.5 million in 2011. After that, it will drop to 0.25 million in 2012. 2013, visitors gradually rise every year, and up to 2 million in 2017. Lastly, the total is 1 million in 2010 and growth up to each year, and up to 2.8 million in 2015. After 2015, it is constant to one year and again rise up to 3.5 million.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.5 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers all three data series presented in the line graph, including tourists staying on the island, those staying on cruise ships, and the total figures over the 2010-2017 period. Main features and key trends are reported, such as the overall upward trajectory and the fluctuations in specific categories. However, the student struggles with temporal referencing and tense consistency, occasionally misreporting specific data points (e.g., stating the initial island visitor number as 0.7 million instead of 0.75, or stating the 2010 figure for cruise ship visitors as 0.25). Furthermore, the lack of a proper introductory overview paragraph limits the development of a fully coherent summary. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, but the precision and breadth of feature selection align with Band 5.5.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The text suffers from a lack of clear paragraphing, as almost the entire response is compressed into two blocky paragraphs, with the body details clumped together without clear thematic division. Cohesive devices are either missing or misused, relying heavily on basic transition words like 'Initially', 'After that', and 'Lastly'. The sequencing of information within the body paragraph is erratic, jumping between different categories ('While 2010, Visitor staying on cruise ships...') rather than presenting a logical progression. Referencing is occasionally unclear, making it difficult for the reader to track which year or data trend is being discussed. This level of organization and cohesive control reflects Band 5.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range to convey basic graph trends, using terms such as 'gradually increase', 'stable', and 'drop'. However, word choice and collocations are frequently awkward or inaccurate, such as 'growth to 1.5 million' instead of 'grew to' or 'an increase to', and 'stable in two years' instead of 'stable for two years'. There are also lexical repetitions (e.g., repeatedly using 'rise', 'drop', and 'million'). While the vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main points of the graph, the numerous inaccuracies in word formation and collocation place this at a Band 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.5
The response exhibits a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying primarily on simple sentences and faulty attempts at complex clauses. Tense usage is highly erratic and inappropriate for describing past data, frequently shifting into the future tense or present (e.g., 'it will gradually increase', 'it will again drop', 'visitors gradually rise every year, and up to'). There are numerous grammatical errors, such as missing articles ('illustrates number of different tourists visiting in Caribbean island'), incorrect prepositions ('visit in island', 'While 2010'), and subject-verb agreement issues. These frequent errors cause some difficulty for the reader and restrict the score to Band 4.5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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