Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-06

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)

This chart illustrates that how many tourists visited a certain Caribbean island between 2010 and 2017.

Overall, there is an increasing trend for the visitors staying on cruise ships ,visitors staying on island and total total of the both but in between 2011 to 2012 people who stayed on cruise ships decreased and in year 2015 to 2016 the visitors staying on island also declined.

In 2010, majority of the people stayed on the cruise ships that was 0.75 millions and 0.25 millions people stayed on island. Moreover the total people who visited was 1 million. This trend rose for the next years but in 2012 tourists stayed on cruise ships decreased from 0.5 million to again on 0.25 million same as visited in first year. In 2016 the number of visitors stayed on island declined from 1.5 to 1.25 million.

In 2017, visitors stayed on cruise ships increased to 2 million while people stayed on island also rose to 1.5 million and commutative visitors reached to 3.5 millions.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the task partially and presents an overview, but contains notable factual inaccuracies regarding the data. For instance, you stated that in 2010 the majority of people stayed on cruise ships at 0.75 million and 0.25 million stayed on the island, which inverts the actual figures from the chart where visitors staying on the island were 0.75 million and those on cruise ships were 0.25 million. While you successfully identified key trends such as the overall upward trajectory and certain fluctuations, the misinterpretation of data points limits the quality of your response. To move to a higher band, ensure that all figures and comparisons are accurately read from the visual data and that your overview captures the main trends precisely without data confusion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

Your response is arranged with clear paragraphing, dividing the introduction, overview, and body details logically. There is a coherent overall structure, and you attempt to guide the reader using transition signals such as 'Overall', 'In 2010', and 'Furthermore'. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or imprecise, and referencing is not always clear, such as the slightly clumsy phrasing in 'total total of the both' and the repetitive use of time markers. To achieve a higher band, work on using a wider variety of cohesive devices more naturally and ensure that your sentences flow smoothly from one idea to the next without awkward transitions or repetitive structural patterns.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing you to discuss trends and visitor numbers, but the range is limited and contains noticeable errors in word choice and collocation. For example, you used 'commutative visitors' instead of 'cumulative visitors' or 'total visitors', and 'visitors staying on island' lacks a necessary article. There are also repetitions of basic terms like 'visitors', 'stayed', and 'cruise ships'. To improve your lexical score, you need to expand your repertoire of less common vocabulary and paraphrasing expressions—such as using synonyms for 'increase' and 'decrease'—while ensuring that word choices and collocations are accurate and appropriate for academic writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting structures like 'visitors staying on cruise ships increased to 2 million while people stayed on island also rose'. However, your writing contains frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('stayed on island', 'in year 2015'), prepositions ('decreased from 0.5 million to again on 0.25 million'), and awkward relative clauses ('This chart illustrates that how many tourists...'). These frequent errors and faulty complex structures can cause occasional difficulty for the reader. To reach a higher band, focus on eliminating basic grammatical slips, improving article and preposition usage, and ensuring that all complex sentences are grammatically accurate.

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