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 chart illustrates the number of visitors visiting a particular Caibbean island from 2010 to 2017.
Overall, there is a significant increase in the count of total visitors over the period. While first tourists were interested in staying on island but eventually they prioritized staying on the cruise ships.
Total visitors were one million in 2010. After a steady incease, this number reached to nearly 2.7 million in 2015 where it leveled off till 2016. Then after a massive surge the number commulated to exactly 3.5 million.
Visitors who prefered staying on islant were around 0.7 million in total. After a gradual increment , their count constantly hovered at 1.5 million till 2015 before a slight drop around 1.2 million in 2016. This count regain it position at 1.5 million in 2017
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response covers the main features of the graph, outlining the general upward trend and reporting key data points for overall visitors, cruise ship passengers, and those staying on the island. However, the length requirement is not met, as the response falls short of the 150-word minimum, containing only 132 words. Furthermore, some data points contain minor inaccuracies, such as stating visitors reached "nearly 2.7 million in 2015" (the total was actually 2.75 million) and describing the visitor count as "around 0.7 million" in 2010 when it was 0.75 million. The overview mentions a shift in tourist preference towards cruise ships, which is a relevant observation, but the overall development of ideas remains somewhat limited and under-developed due to the brief length.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response demonstrates some organisation through the use of paragraphs and basic linking devices like "Overall" and "Then after a massive surge". However, there is no clear overall progression across the body paragraphs, and referencing is occasionally faulty, such as in the sentence "While first tourists were interested in staying on island but eventually they prioritized staying on the cruise ships," which combines contradictory conjunctions ("While... but"). Cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or overused, and referencing between sentences lacks seamless flow. Paragraphing is attempted by separating the overview, total figures, and specific visitor types, but the structural progression requires better logical control to guide the reader smoothly through the data.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is minimally adequate for the task, attempting some less common words such as "increment," "surge," and "commulated" (which appears to be a misspelling or misuse of accumulated). There are several spelling mistakes throughout the text, including "Caibbean," "incease," "commulated," and "islant," alongside awkward word choices and collocations like "this count regain it position." While these errors and misspellings do not completely obscure the intended meaning, they are noticeable and cause some difficulty for the reader, preventing the response from reaching a higher lexical band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The writing displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but attempts at complex structures are frequently faulty. Examples include grammatical errors such as "the number of visitors visiting" (repetitive phrasing), missing articles ("staying on island" instead of "staying on the island"), and subject-verb agreement or tense issues like "This count regain it position" instead of "regained its position." Punctuation is also neglected in places, such as missing commas after introductory phrases. These frequent errors in grammar and punctuation can cause occasional difficulty for the reader, though the meaning remains partially accessible.
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