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 given graph illustrates the number of tourists visiting a particular Caribbean islanf between 2010 and 2017.

First and foremost, the lines of the graph represents the visitors staying on cruise, the visitors staying on island and the total. Moving forward, visitors staying on cruise was 0.25 million in 2010 which was increasing till 2011 but then went downwards in 2012. In addition, it again started increasing and gradually went up till 2017 and reached 2 million. Futhermore, in 2010, visitors staying on island was 0.75 million which was constant till 2011 and then it slowly went upwards till 2013 and again became constant till 2015. To add more, in 2016, it faced downfall and in 2017 it finally reached 1.5 million. Lastly, the total was 1 million in 2010 which was significantly increasing till 2017 and reached 3.5 million.

Overall, the difference between the visitors in 2010 and 2017 was higer in visitors staying on cruise of Caribbean island.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You report all three series and capture several key movements, including the cruise-ship figure rising to 2 million by 2017 and the island figure reaching 1.5 million. However, the overview is not sufficiently clear: the final sentence focuses on the difference between 2010 and 2017 rather than summarising the main overall pattern. The claim that the difference was higher for cruise visitors is also unclear and does not accurately express the comparison; total visitors rose from 1 million to 3.5 million, while cruise visitors showed the strongest growth among the categories. Some details are imprecise, such as saying the cruise figure increased “till 2011” without giving its value. A clearer overview and more precise comparisons would strengthen the report.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a body paragraph covering the three lines, and a concluding overview. The information generally follows the timeline, so the reader can trace the changes. However, the body places all three series in one long paragraph, and transitions such as “Moving forward,” “Furthermore,” and “To add more” feel mechanical or do not clearly signal the relationship between points. The final “Overall” sentence does not effectively synthesise the preceding details. Grouping the two visitor categories together and then summarising the total, with a concise overview at the start or end, would make the progression clearer and cohesion less repetitive.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing trends, including “constant,” “increasing,” “went downwards,” and “reached,” and the meaning is generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several expressions are imprecise or unnatural for a data report. “Visitors staying on cruise” would be more naturally expressed as “visitors staying on cruise ships,” while “faced downfall” is an awkward way to describe a small decline. There are also spelling errors, including “islanf,” “Futhermore,” and “higer,” which reduce accuracy. Aim for a more varied set of precise trend verbs and check spelling carefully; this would make the description more fluent and appropriately formal.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, and most of the trends remain understandable. However, errors in agreement and verb forms recur. For example, “the lines of the graph represents” should be “the lines … represent,” and “visitors staying on cruise was” should be “visitors … were.” The phrase “which was increasing till 2011” also creates an unclear grammatical link between the figure and its movement. Some sentences rely on repeated “which” clauses and “and then” constructions, limiting the range and control of complex structures. Practise forming accurate comparisons and trend sentences, and check subject–verb agreement and tense consistency when describing the data.

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