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 graph illustrates the number of visitors visiting a particular Caribbean island between 2010 and 2017. The total number of visitors rose from 2010 to 2017.
Overall, visitors staying on cruise ships and island raised, However from 2015, the graph visitors staying on island started to fell for a year.
In 2010, tourists staying on cruise ships was 0.25 million, less than the tourists staying on island. Moreover, in 2010 tourists on cruise ships increased but the island ones remained same. After a year visitors on island rose from 0.5 million to 1.25 million, which was a significant increase however; vistiors on cruise ships dropped to the same number as it was in 2010. Furthermore, from 2013 to 2015 visitors staying on cruise ships significantly rose and crossed the 1 million mark whereas visitors staying on island remained requivalent, In the mid 2015 cruise ships visitors surpassed the number of visitors staying on island.
In addition, in 2016 visitors staying on island dropped from 1.5 million to 1.25 million and in 2017 visitors staying on cruiseships touched its peak of 2 million visitors and the total of 3.5 million visitors staying on the cruise ships and island.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
You cover the main subject and provide an overview that the total rose, while noting the island-staying figure’s dip after 2015. Several key comparisons are also relevant, including the cruise-ship total reaching 2 million in 2017 and overtaking island visitors around 2015. However, some figures and trends are misreported: in 2011, cruise-ship visitors rose to 0.5 million, but the island figure stayed at 0.75 million; it did not rise from 0.5 to 1.25 million after a year. The island figure also began increasing in 2012, not after 2011. The final sentence confuses the 3.5 million total with visitors staying on cruise ships. More accurate reporting of these details would make the overview and comparisons clearer.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview and paragraphs describing the figures over time. This gives the reader a basic route through the information. However, progression within the main paragraph is sometimes difficult to follow because several years and comparisons are packed into long sentences. For example, the sentence beginning “After a year” combines the island increase, a cruise-ship decrease and a comparison, while the figures themselves are inaccurate. Linking words such as “Moreover,” “Furthermore” and “In addition” are used, but some feel mechanical or do not clearly show the relationship between points. Separate the trends into clearer stages and use references such as “this figure” only when their meaning is unmistakable.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use relevant vocabulary for describing a graph, including “increased,” “remained,” “dropped,” “surpassed” and “peak.” These choices help communicate the broad trends. However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or repetitive: “visitors visiting” repeats the same idea, “raised” is not the natural verb for a figure that increases, and “the graph visitors staying on island started to fell” is unclear. There are also spelling errors, including “vistiors” and “cruiseships,” and “requivalent” is not an appropriate word here. Aim for precise graph language and check spelling; for example, use “the number of visitors rose” and “remained stable.”
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including clauses with “whereas” and “which,” and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence construction are noticeable. For example, “visitors staying on cruise ships and island raised” needs a grammatical subject and verb such as “the numbers … rose,” while “tourists staying on cruise ships was” has a plural subject with a singular verb. “Started to fell” uses the wrong verb form, and “the graph visitors … started” is missing a grammatical link. Punctuation also needs attention: the comma after “raised” should not be followed by “However” in that construction. Review subject–verb agreement and build complex sentences around clear clauses.
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