Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-27
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 presents the number of tourists exploring a specific Caribbean Island from 2010 to 2017.
Overall, it can be clearly seen that the total number of visitors started at 1 million and went up to 3.5 million. Therefore, it became the most popular island among vacationers throughout the period. Meanwhile, the visitors who stayed on cruise ships were the highest.
Turning to details, the visitors who stayed on cruise ships slowly increased for one year between 2010 and 2011 from 0.3 to 0.5 million, then fell for one year to around 0.3 million until 2012. From 2012 to 2017, the visitors who stayed on cruise ships increased steeply, and between 2015 and 2016, they overtook the visitors who stayed on the island and reached about 2 million. Whereas the total number of vacationers remained the highest throughout the given time period, they increased dramatically from 1 million and rose to 3.5 million between 2010 and 2017.
Moreover, the explorers who stayed on the island started at 0.7 million and remained the same for one year, then increased until 2013 to about 1.3 million and remained constant for 2 years from 2013 to 2015. After 2015, these numbers of visitors declined to nearly 1 million, then increased again to about 1.3 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 | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student covers all parts of the task well, providing an overview of the main trends and reporting key data points from the chart. The overview mentions that the total number of visitors rose from 1 million to 3.5 million, though the statement that it 'became the most popular island' is slightly confused since the prompt only refers to a single island. Furthermore, the claim in the introduction that cruise ship visitors were the highest throughout the period contradicts the data and the later text where they overtook island stayers only in 2015-2016. However, the body paragraphs successfully report the fluctuations for visitors staying on cruise ships and those staying on the island. Figures such as the 2010 starting point of 1 million for the total and the final 3.5 million figure are accurately reported. Overall, despite a couple of slight misinterpretations in the overview, the response adequately addresses the prompt.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response exhibits a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logical progression from an introductory paragraph to an overview and subsequent detail paragraphs. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different tourist categories. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'Meanwhile', 'Turning to details', and 'Moreover' are employed to guide the reader through the data. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes faulty or mechanical. For instance, the transition 'Therefore, it became the most popular island' lacks logical grounding because the data only shows a single destination. Additionally, the pronoun referencing in the body paragraphs ('whereas the total number of vacationers remained the highest... they increased dramatically') creates slight confusion regarding which group is being discussed. Despite these minor flaws, the organization is clear and easy to follow.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully employing terms related to data reporting such as 'line graph', 'fluctuated', 'increased steeply', 'remained constant', and 'declined'. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary like 'exploring', 'vacationers', and 'overtook'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'exploring a specific Caribbean Island' instead of 'visiting', and referring to the total number of visitors as 'vacationers' who 'remained the highest' when referring to data magnitude. Spelling is generally accurate, and vocabulary errors do not impede communication, placing the response solidly in the band 6 category.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and time conjunctions (e.g., 'while the visitors who stayed on cruise ships were the highest', 'from 2010 to 2011 from 0.3 to 0.5 million, then fell for one year...'). There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, such as 'the visitors who stayed on cruise ships slowly increased for one year... then fell for one year to around 0.3 million until 2012' which miscalculates the timeline, and 'these numbers of visitors' instead of 'this number of visitors'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but some long sentences become slightly convoluted. These errors do not impede communication, reflecting the characteristics of band 6.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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