Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-24
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 the visitors who came to visit a Caribbean island from 2010 to 2017.
Overall, the total number of visitors was the largest throughout the period, while visitors who stayed on cruise ships fluctuated in all years, in contrast, people who stayed on the Caribbean island increased sharply over the period.
In 2010, tourists stayed on the island stood at around 0.8 million. This figure remained the same in 2011, while it increased by 1.3 milion in 2012. Then also increased till 2015 to 1.5 million people. This figure decreased slightly in 2016 with approximately 0.2 million but remained the same in 2017 in 2015. On the other hand, in 2010 visitors who stayed on cruise ships started with 0.3 million, this figure rose by 0.5 million visitors, while in 2012 the number of tourists again decreased to the same level as 2010. In 2013 it increased by 0.5 million and this figure gradually rose throughout the period and ended with 2 millions people.
The overall visitors stood at 1 millons but darmatically high in all years, in 2011, [redacted phone], and 2014 increaeed the value with almost half and reamined stable in 2016 with around 2.7 million, this figure ended with 3.5 millions individuals who visited the caribbean island. Give band
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 covers all parts of the task by reporting the main trends for visitors staying on cruise ships, those staying on the island, and the total figures. An overview is attempted in the second paragraph, correctly identifying the overall upward trajectory and the dominance of the total figure. However, some of the data reporting contains inaccuracies and confusion regarding math and timeframes, such as stating 'while it increased by 1.3 milion in 2012' (the figure actually went from 0.75 to 1.25 million, an increase of 0.5) and confusing 2017 with 2015 at the end of the third paragraph. Despite these data interpretation issues, the main features are sufficiently addressed to satisfy Band 6.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is organized into four paragraphs, including an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs detailing the categories. There is a logical attempt to sequence information by grouping categories and chronological periods. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty, as seen in the run-on sentences and transitional phrasing like 'Then also increased till 2015' and 'while in 2012 the number of tourists again decreased'. Paragraphing is present, but internal referencing and logical progression become murky in places due to awkward sentence construction and punctuation errors.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting appropriate terms such as 'fluctuated', 'increased sharply', and 'slightly'. However, there are notable word-choice errors, inaccurate numerical expressions (e.g., '1.3 milion' where 0.5 is meant), and spelling mistakes ('millons', 'darmatically', 'increaeed', 'reamined'). Less common lexical items are attempted but lack precision and natural collocation, placing this performance firmly in the Band 5.5 to 6 range.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are several run-on sentences and comma splices, such as 'In 2010, tourists stayed on the island stood at around 0.8 million.' Frequent errors in verb forms, prepositions, and tense consistency occur, such as 'tourists stayed' instead of 'tourists staying' and missing auxiliary verbs. While meaning is generally conveyed, these persistent errors restrict the score to a 5.5.
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