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 chart illustrates the number of visitors in millions visiting a specific Caribbean island from 2010 to 2017.
Overall, all categories recorded an upward trend over the period. The Total had the highest number of visitors, while the numbers for Visitors staying on island and cruise ships steadily increased. Initially Total category recorded the highest figure, whereas cruise ships had the much lower base.
The proportion for Total increased substantially from 1 million in 2010 to 1.5 million in 2012, further rising sharply to about 2 million and 2.8 million by 2015 and remained stable until 2016, before reaching a peak of 3.5 million by 2017.
The number of Visitors staying on cruise ships and island fluctuated throughout the period. The figure for Visitors staying on island rose from 0.25 to 0.5 million between 2010 and 2011, before declining back to below 0.5 in 2012. After that number of visitors considerably grew to 2 million by 2017. A similar pattern was observed for Visitors staying on island, Until 2011 number remained stable. After that the figure diverged significantly from 0.75 to 1.5 million tourists in 2013, remained constant in 2014 and 2015, before dropping back to 1.25 million in 2016 and further rising to same level as in 2015.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response addresses the main features of the task, providing an overview and mentioning most trends, but some parts are under-developed or contain inaccuracies. While the overview correctly notes an overall upward trend, several details are imprecise or mixed up. For example, the text states that the proportion for Total increased to 1.5 million in 2012 and about 2 million by 2015, which generally aligns with the chart, but subsequent descriptions of the individual categories become confused. The writer mixes up 'Visitors staying on cruise ships' and 'Visitors staying on island' in the final paragraph, claiming that the figure for island visitors rose to 2 million by 2017 when that actually applies to cruise ships. This partial confusion and lack of precise data reporting prevent the response from achieving a higher band.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The response shows some logical organisation with a clear introduction and paragraph structure, but overall progression is hindered by mechanical cohesion and referencing errors. Paragraphs are attempted, but the links between sentences can be repetitive or unclear. For instance, referencing words like 'the figure' and 'a similar pattern' are applied incorrectly or ambiguously in the final paragraph, where the writer states 'A similar pattern was observed for Visitors staying on island' right after discussing island visitors, leading to confusion. Cohesive devices are sometimes inaccurate or awkward, such as 'Until 2011 number remained stable', which disrupts the natural flow and logical development of information throughout the text.
Lexical Resource: Band 6.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, demonstrating an attempt to use less common items such as 'upward trend', 'fluctuated', 'diverged significantly', and 'reaching a peak'. However, there are notable inaccuracies in word choice and terminology. For instance, the phrase 'The proportion for Total' is inappropriate since the chart shows visitor numbers in millions rather than percentages or proportions. Additionally, there are minor awkward phrasings and repetitions. Nevertheless, the range of vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the general meaning without severely impeding the reader, keeping it firmly in the intermediate bracket.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The text displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting structures like relative clauses and time-phrase introductions. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, particularly regarding missing articles ('Initially Total category', 'Until 2011 number remained stable') and prepositions. Verb forms and tense consistency occasionally falter, and some sentences are clumsily structured, such as 'before rising to same level as in 2015'. These frequent errors in basic grammatical patterns and punctuation require some effort from the reader to untangle, though they rarely obscure the overall meaning completely.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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