Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-09

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 information about the quantity of visiters visited a specific Caribbean island from the year 2010 to the year 2016.

Overal, total number of tourists gradually increased throughout the period while visitors stayed on the cruise ships were fewest, and tourists stayed on the island were higher than the visitors on the cruise ships at the start of the period, but exceeded the number of visitors on island.

Turning to the number of visitors remained on the cruise ships, about 0.25 million people went on the ships in 2010. Throughout the period this figure increse dramatically with some fluctuations and a down drift, in year 2012. Furthermore, there was a upward trend, and in year 2014 the figure reached to 1 million. Simillarly, the trend witnessed a constant increase by reaching 2 million in 2017.

On the other hand, visitors stayed on island constantly increased untill the end of the time because in year 2017 the figure was recorded 1.5 million, but there was significant fluctuations in whole period.

Total numbers of visitors show a considerable increase, in the year 2010 the proportion was 1 million. This proportion experienced increased, reaching 2.5 million in 2015, while there was a down dip in 2016 than in year 2017 there was a dramatic increase, and proportion raised to 3.5 million.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the overall rise in total visitors and compare the two accommodation groups, which addresses the main features of the graph. The cruise-ship figures are mostly reported accurately, including the rise to 2 million in 2017. However, the opening says the period ends in 2016, although the graph continues to 2017, and the overview’s claim that cruise-ship visitors “exceeded” island visitors is only true by 2017. Some details are also inaccurate: island visitors did not increase constantly, and the total reached 2.5 million in 2014, not 2015; it then remained at about 2.75 million in 2015 and 2016. More precise comparisons and a clearer account of the fluctuations would make the report more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for the two visitor categories and the total. This gives the information a generally coherent arrangement. Linking expressions such as “Furthermore” and “On the other hand” help signal movement between points, although some connections are mechanical or do not express the relationship accurately. For example, “On the other hand” introduces another data series rather than a contrast, and the final sentence joins several changes in a confusing sequence. The overview also combines comparisons in a way that is difficult to follow. Grouping related trends more clearly and using references such as “this figure” only when the series is unmistakable would improve cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “gradually increased,” “fluctuations,” “upward trend,” and “dramatic increase.” These choices help describe movement in the data, but control is uneven: some phrases are unnatural or imprecise, such as “quantity of visiters visited,” “down drift,” “reached to 1 million,” and “proportion” for visitor totals. Spelling errors, including “Overal,” “increse,” “Simillarly,” and “untill,” are also noticeable. Aim for accurate collocations and consistent terms such as “number of visitors” or “figure.” More precise language for stable periods and small declines would help you describe the graph without relying on broad or awkward expressions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including clauses with “while,” “because,” and “although,” but the complex structures are not consistently controlled. For example, “the quantity of visiters visited” has an incorrect clause structure, while “This proportion experienced increased” uses an incorrect verb form. There are also problems with articles and sentence construction in “in year 2014 the figure reached to 1 million” and with the long final sentence, where several clauses are joined without clear punctuation. These errors sometimes make relationships between events harder to understand, although the general meaning is usually recoverable. Practise forming concise comparisons and checking verb patterns, articles, and clause boundaries.

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