Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-07

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 data about how many numbers of tourists visiting a particular Caribbean island from 2010 to 2017.

Overall, it is clear that less number of vsitors staying on the cruise ships and medium number visitors staying on island. The crucial point is that, total numbers of visitors increased all over the period.

In 2010, only 0.2 millions of visitors staying on cruise ships however next year it slightly rose at approximately 0.5 millions. Visitors were staying on cruise ships increased almost every years till 2017. The number of visitors who staying on island was around 0.7 millions from 2010 to 2011. After rose in number of visitors continousely till 2015, it slightly decline in next two years.

The total number of tourists was approximately 1 millions who visiting a caribbean island. The number people increased almost in every year. Especially, after 2016, the total number of visitors dramatically increased.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the overall rise in total visitors and describe the broad movement in both visitor categories, so the response is relevant to the graph. However, the overview is unclear: “less number” and “medium number” do not explain the main comparison, and the cruise-ship group actually grows substantially, from about 0.25 million to 2 million. Some details are inaccurate or imprecise: island visitors rose to about 1.5 million by 2013, remained around that level through 2015, then dipped in 2016 and recovered in 2017; they did not decline for two years. The total reached about 3.5 million in 2017, not merely a general increase. Select and report these key stages more clearly, with accurate comparisons.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic paragraph structure, moving from an introduction and overview to details about the two categories and then the total. This gives the reader some organisation. However, progression within the body is not consistently clear: the account shifts between cruise-ship visitors, island visitors and the total without a well-planned comparison, and the final paragraph repeats the general increase rather than adding a precise concluding feature. Linking is also limited and sometimes awkward, as in “however next year” and “After rose in number.” Grouping the two visitor categories together and then comparing their trends with the total would make the sequence easier to follow. Use linking expressions accurately and avoid repeating broad statements.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “increased,” “decline,” “approximately” and “total number of tourists,” which helps communicate the subject. However, the range is limited and several word choices or forms are noticeably inaccurate, sometimes making the meaning difficult to interpret. For example, “less number” is not a natural way to describe a smaller figure, while “medium number” does not express a clear comparison. “The number people increased” is also unclear, and “visitors who staying” shows an incorrect word form. There are spelling errors such as “vsitors” and “continousely,” as well as inconsistent capitalisation of “Caribbean.” Build a more precise set of trend and comparison phrases and check spelling and collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts a few longer sentence patterns, including “After rose in number of visitors…” and a sentence beginning “The number of visitors who…,” but these structures are often faulty. Errors in verb forms and sentence construction occur frequently: “next year it slightly rose” lacks a correctly formed clause, “visitors were staying … increased” combines incompatible structures, and “After rose” needs a subject and a correctly formed verb. Articles, plurals and agreement are also inconsistent, as in “0.2 millions” and “total numbers … increased.” Most sentences rely on simple patterns, and these errors can make parts of the account hard to follow. Practise accurate past-tense sentences and use subordinate clauses only when their structure is secure.

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