Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-04

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 tourists visiting a particular caribbean island between 2010 and 2017.

Overall, the total tourist had recorded highest upward trend. Meanwhile, the second highest was visitors staying on cruise ships. Notably, the visitors staying on island had lowest percentage.

At the beginning of the period, total visitors stood at 1%, compared with 0.8% for visitors staying in island. While, the visitor staying on cruise ships was 0.3%. Over the following years, the total tourists increased to

2%, while visitors on island also increased to 1.5%. Together, the visitors staying on cruise ships was fluctuating with percentage of 0.5%.

From 2014 to 2017,the total tourists accounted for 2.5% to 3.5%, while visitors staying on island was 1.5% but it fluctuates sometimes. In contrast, visitors staying on cruise ships was peaked at 2%. By the end of the period, these are the number of tourists visiting a caribbean island

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

First, please note that the response does not meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, as it contains only 140 words (and 13 words were copied directly from the prompt). Regarding the content, the response addresses the task only partially. While it attempts to provide an overview and mentions some figures, the data is frequently inaccurate or misunderstood. For instance, the student refers to data points in percentages like '1%' and '0.8%', whereas the graph clearly measures tourists in millions. Furthermore, some main features are under-developed or unclear, such as the vague concluding sentence: 'these are the number of tourists visiting a caribbean island.' To improve, you must ensure that all figures reflect the correct units from the prompt and that you clearly report the key trends without misinterpreting the scale.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response shows some basic organization, separating the introduction, body details, and a concluding remark, but it lacks a clear overall progression. Paragraphing is rudimentary, and cohesive devices are used inadequately or inaccurately. For example, transitional phrases like 'Meanwhile' and 'In contrast' are awkwardly placed, and referencing is sometimes unclear, such as when the pronoun 'these' in the final sentence lacks a clear antecedent. To achieve a higher band, you need to ensure that ideas flow logically from one sentence to the next using accurate and varied cohesive devices, and structure your paragraphs so that the comparison of data is smooth and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is limited and barely adequate for the task. There are noticeable errors in word choice and phrasing, such as writing 'total tourist had recorded highest upward trend' instead of a natural collocation like 'the total number of tourists experienced an upward trend'. Additionally, misusing units (treating millions as percentages) heavily impacts task-specific vocabulary. You also attempted some less common phrases, but they were inaccurate. To improve your lexical score, work on using precise descriptive vocabulary for trends (e.g., 'rose significantly', 'fluctuated') and make sure you use appropriate units of measurement rather than inventing or confusing them.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response displays a very limited range of sentence structures, and attempts at complex or comparative structures often result in errors. There are frequent grammatical mistakes, including missing articles ('had lowest percentage' instead of 'had the lowest percentage'), incorrect prepositions ('visitors staying in island' instead of 'on the island'), and awkward verb tenses or passive voice constructions ('the visitors staying on cruise ships was fluctuating'). These errors frequently cause difficulty for the reader. To move up to a higher band, you need to broaden your grammatical repertoire, ensure accurate subject-verb agreement, pay close attention to articles and prepositions, and produce a higher proportion of error-free sentences.

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

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