Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-05

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 change in number of visits to a specific Caribbean island by tourists in 8 years from 2010 to 2017 as staying on cruise ships, staying of island and total visitors. Figures are calculated in millions of visitors.

Overall, the graph shows number of total visitor raised significantly over the period given. Number of visitors staying on cruise ships remained constant after rising slightly at initial stage. In contrast visitors staying on island raised gradually over the given time.

Toatl visitors accounted for 1 milion at start in 2010 and raised gradually untill it reached to its peak of 3.5 million in 2017. Similarly, in the same year visitors who stayed on island were almost quarter of a million was lowest which raised a little to 0.5 million in 2011 before dip in 2012 and then it showed constant rise before reaching to its peak of 2 million in 2017.

Likewise, Visitors on cruise shipsaccounted for three quarters of a million at start and stayed same in 2012 before rising slightly to 1.5 million where it remained same until it showed a dip of 1.25 million in 2015 and returning back to 1.5 million in 2017.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response addresses the task partially, attempting to present an overview and select main features from the line graph. However, there are significant inaccuracies in reporting the data. For instance, the text claims that visitors staying on cruise ships 'remained same until it showed a dip of 1.25 million in 2015', which misinterprets the graph where 1.25 million was actually the data point for that year, and misreads several trends and figures for the categories. The overview identifies some general trends, such as the total visitors rising significantly, but overall the development is limited and marred by misread data and a confused mixing up of the categories in the body paragraphs, preventing it from reaching a higher level.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response demonstrates a clear overall arrangement with information divided into an introduction, an overview, and separate body paragraphs for the different data series, achieving the lower half of band six while showing elements of the next band up through basic paragraphing structure. Cohesive devices are used to signal progression, such as 'Overall', 'In contrast', and 'Likewise'. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes mechanical or faulty, as seen in the slightly confused grouping of details within sentences and repetitive linking patterns. Paragraphing is present and logically separates the visual features, though the internal flow within paragraphs occasionally feels disjointed due to dense and tangled sentence structures.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and minimally adequate for the task, containing noticeable errors that occasionally cause difficulty or confusion for the reader. There are awkward word choices and phrasing, such as 'staying of island' instead of 'visitors staying on the island', and incorrect lexical combinations like 'raised significantly' where 'rose' is required. Spelling errors also occur, such as 'untill', 'dip', and 'Toatl'. While the writer attempts some less common vocabulary items related to graph trends, the high frequency of inaccurate word formation, collocation, and basic expression restricts the lexical score to this level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control is inconsistent, resulting in frequent grammatical errors. There are frequent issues with missing or incorrect articles, such as 'change in number of visits' and 'at start', as well as preposition errors like 'at initial stage'. Verb tense and form management is also problematic, with incorrect passive/active blending such as 'Figures are calculated in millions' and awkward participial clauses. Punctuation and subject-verb agreement show persistent flaws throughout the text, leading to sentences that require effort to parse and falling squarely into the band five criteria for grammatical accuracy.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.