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 graph demonstrates the amount of tourists visited one of the Caribbean island from the year 2010 to 2017, the figures are measured in Millions of visitors

Looking at the graph, it is evident that there is a dramtical increase in the total visitors on the island. Over the years 2010 to 2013, the tourist count, who stayed on cruise ships, had oscillated but later rose to drastically. The visitors staying on the island remained constant over the time period of 3 years.

Initially, there were a total of 1 million visitors in the year 2010, that included visitors staying on cruise ships and visitors staying on the island. The first few years of the 7 years period has a slow growth of visitors.

The total visitor count significantly rose from 1 million visitors to 3.5 visitors over the period of 7 years. The vistiors, who stayed on cruise ships were fewer than the visitors who stayed on island. However, this has changed in the years 2016 and 2017.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student successfully addresses the main features of the graph, outlining overall trends such as the significant increase in total visitors from 1 million to 3.5 million, as well as reporting on the two sub-categories (cruise ship visitors and island stay visitors). An overview is provided in the third and fourth paragraphs. However, there are minor inaccuracies in reporting specific data points; for instance, the text states '3.5 visitors' instead of '3.5 million visitors', and there are some generalisations about the trends. Nevertheless, the main comparison between cruise ship tourists and island stay tourists is captured, meeting the core requirements of Task 1.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response is arranged into four paragraphs, providing a logical framework with an introduction, body paragraphs, and an overview/conclusion. Cohesive devices are used to connect ideas, such as 'Looking at the graph', 'Initially', and 'However'. However, some referencing is slightly clunky or mechanical, and the paragraphing could be structured more effectively to separate the overview from detailed body paragraphs. Transitions between sentences occasionally feel abrupt, but the overall progression of information remains generally clear and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student attempts a range of vocabulary appropriate for a data summary, including terms such as 'oscillated', 'drastically', and 'significantly'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors, such as 'dramtical' (dramatic), 'amount of tourists visited' (number of tourists who visited), and 'Caribbean island' missing a plural or article. Less common vocabulary is attempted with some inaccuracy, but the lexical range is adequate to convey the intended meaning without impeding communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'the tourist count, who stayed on cruise ships, had oscillated'. However, there are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, including tense inconsistencies ('had oscillated' used incorrectly for a past timeline) and missing pluralisation ('3.5 visitors' instead of millions). Punctuation errors also appear, such as comma splices or missing full stops in the opening sentence. These errors occur throughout but do not prevent the overall message from being understood.

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