Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-29

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 visited the Caribbean island from 2010 to 2017.

This can be seen from the line graph that visitors staying on cruise ships marked the same number in 2010 and 2012, which was 0.3 million. Then, it rose steadily. In the final year, it reached 2 million. Visitors staying on island followed a fluctuated trend. Between 2010 and 2011, it remained constant and then decreased slightly and again went up. In 2017, it welcomed 1.5 million tourists.

Turning to the total number of visitors, in the beginning period of around two years, it marginally grew up from 1 to 1.5 million. After that, again it increased significantly, and in two years it increased 1 million visitors. But between 2015 and 2016, it remained constant. Later on, it sharply rose and reached 3.5 million in the final year.

Overall, the figure followed an upward trend. The cruise ships were the most popular for staying purpose compared to staying on island.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The student covers all parts of the task well, selecting and reporting the main features of the chart with relevant comparisons. The overview is present at the end, though stating that cruise ships were the most popular for staying purpose contains a slight lexical inaccuracy since cruise ship visitors stay on ships rather than the island. However, the overall trends for cruise ship tourists, island stay tourists, and the total are accurately identified and supported with figures from the data. Key data points such as the final figures in 2017 are correctly cited, meeting the requirements of Task Achievement at a Band 6.5 to 7 level.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response is logically organised into clear paragraphs, starting with an introduction, followed by body paragraphs detailing specific categories, and concluding with an overall summary. Cohesive devices such as 'Then', 'Turning to the total number of visitors', and 'Later on' are used to guide the reader through the data, although some transitions feel slightly mechanical or repetitive ('After that, again it increased'). Paragraphing is used appropriately, and referencing is generally clear throughout the text, warranting a solid Band 6.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common phrases such as 'fluctuated trend', 'remained constant', and 'rose steadily'. However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and awkward phrasings, such as 'marked the same number' instead of 'remained the same' and 'for staying purpose'. Spelling is generally accurate, but word choice and collocation issues prevent the response from achieving a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, with examples of subordinate clauses ('As can be seen from the line graph...'). There are some grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, such as 'visitors staying on island followed a fluctuated trend' (should be 'fluctuating') and 'it marginally grew up' ('grew up' is usually for people; 'increased' is better). Punctuation is generally acceptable, and errors do not impede communication, placing this securely at a Band 6.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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