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 illustrate the number of to

turists who visited a particular Caribbean island betweeen between 2010 and 2017. It show the total number of tourists who stayed on the Islanland and on the Cruieseship.

Overall the total number of tourists increased considerably during the period, rising from 1 million to 3.5 million.

While the number of visitors who stayed on island increased gradually and the number of visitors stay on cruise ship increase much more significantly.

In 2010 , 0.25 million people stayed in cruise ship and 0.75 million visitors stayed on island. In 2011 changes remain unchanged, before increasing to 1.25 million in 2012 and reaching 1.5 miliion in 2013. It then stayed at this level untill 2015 fell slightly to 1.25 million to 2016.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response attempts to summarize the main trends in the line graph, correctly identifying the overall increase in total visitors from 1 million to 3.5 million. The student also attempts to compare cruise ship passengers and island stay visitors. However, the analysis is incomplete and stops abruptly near the end of the timeline, failing to report the data for 2017. Furthermore, there are some minor inaccuracies in reading the data, such as claiming visitor numbers remained unchanged in 2011 when the chart shows a split trend between the two categories. Crucially, the response falls short of the 150-word minimum length requirement, containing only 128 words. This has a negative impact on the overall task achievement score.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay attempts a logical structure by starting with an introduction and an overall trend paragraph, followed by specific data points. However, the progression is disrupted by typographical errors and abrupt paragraph breaks. The student uses some basic cohesive devices, but referencing and linking between sentences are occasionally awkward or missing. Paragraphing is under-developed, with the main body text cramped and incomplete. Overall arrangement shows some basic organization, but cohesion is mechanical and the abrupt ending prevents a fully coherent response.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for a basic description of the chart, utilizing terms like 'number of tourists', 'increased considerably', and 'gradually'. However, there are numerous spelling errors throughout the text, including 'to turists', 'betweeen between', 'Islanland', 'Cruieseship', 'miliion', and 'untill'. The student attempts some less common vocabulary such as 'significantly', but these lexical slips and spelling mistakes detract from the precision of the writing and occasionally strain the reader.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates a mix of simple sentence forms and attempts at more complex structures. There are several noticeable grammatical and punctuation errors throughout the text, such as missing articles ('stay on cruise ship', 'stayed in cruise ship'), subject-verb agreement issues ('The line graph illustrate', 'It show'), and incorrect prepositions ('fell slightly to 1.25 million to 2016'). Punctuation is also faulty, as seen in the spacing before commas. While basic meaning is usually conveyed, the frequency of errors prevents the grammar from reaching a higher band.

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

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