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 chart illusrates the number of visitors in a Caribbean Island, from 2010 to 2017 .
Overall , there was 3 types of visitors in the Caribean Island over the period , the highest one so far was the total category . However , the lowest one in 2017 was the visitors in the Island category .
The category total kept increasing sharply from 2010 by an amount of 1 million'to around 3.5 million person in 2017 which was the peak .
The number of people who visited the Island over the period however they stayed on the cruises saw a notable rose from almost 0.5 million in 2010 to 1 million person in 2014 , to around 2 million person in 2017 . over taking the number of visitors on the Island . The number of person on the Island in 2010 was almost 1 million , However it declined and it climbed to 1.5 million person in 2017 .
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response addresses all parts of the prompt by summarizing the main features of the line chart and making relevant comparisons between the three categories. However, some areas are under-developed or contain inaccuracies. For instance, the opening misstates the starting point for cruise ship visitors (writing 'almost 0.5 million in 2010' when the graph shows 0.25 million). While you successfully identify key trends such as the overall growth and the overtaking of island visitors by cruise ship passengers in 2017, the details regarding the island visitors are somewhat imprecise. To reach a higher level, you should ensure that data points are reported more accurately and support all main trends with precise figures from the visual data.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response exhibits a coherent overall arrangement with an introductory paragraph, an overview, and separate body paragraphs addressing the different categories. Logical progression is attempted, and you use basic cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'However', and 'in 2017'. However, referencing and transitions are at times mechanical or somewhat clunky, such as 'The number of people who visited the Island over the period however they stayed on the cruises saw a notable rose'. Paragraphing is present, but internal cohesion within sentences can be disjointed. To progress, aim for smoother transitions between clauses and clearer referencing of time periods and categories without abrupt shifts.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, with attempts to use less common terms like 'illusrates', 'peak', and 'over taking'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors, such as 'illusrates' (illustrates), 'Caribean' (Caribbean), 'person' instead of 'people' (e.g., '3.5 million person'), and 'rose' used as a noun instead of 'rise'. These lexical inaccuracies and slight spelling slips do not severely impede communication, but they restrict the score. To improve your lexical resource, focus on correct word forms, accurate spelling, and precise collocations when describing statistical trends.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but it is marred by frequent grammatical errors and awkward punctuation. There are issues with subject-verb agreement and article use, such as 'there was 3 types' instead of 'there were three types', and incorrect prepositions or conjunction placements within sentences, as seen in 'The category total kept increasing sharply from 2010 by an amount of 1 million'to around 3.5 million person in 2017 which was the peak.' Punctuation errors, such as unnecessary spaces before commas and periods, are also present. To achieve a higher band, you need to produce a higher proportion of error-free sentences and exercise better control over complex sentence structures and punctuation.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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