Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-13

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 total visitors at Caribbean island from 2010 to 2017, also how many of them stayed on the island and on a cruise ships in given period.

Overall, there was a significant rise in the total visitors over the given period. The number of people staying on the island was comparatively higher than that of staying on cruise ships till 2015, while in the final years it became vise-versa.

To begin with, the tourist visiting the island in 2010 were 1 million, with the gradual increase in the numbers it reached at 2.75 million in 2015, before a hike to 3.5 million in the final year. The tourist staying on the island in the initial years was 0.75 million, with the nomimal rise this reached at 1.5 million people were staying on the island in 2013, with just the minor drop in 2016 (1.25 miilion) the figure came to the same position again as of 2013.

The visitors who were staying on crusie ships in the starting was only 0.25 million out of total, with the minor fluctuations this remained same untill 2013, while there was gradual rise in the number and reached at

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main overall rise in total visitors and compare the two accommodation groups, noting that island stays were higher until the later years. Several figures are also reported accurately, including the total reaching 3.5 million in 2017 and island visitors standing at 1.5 million in 2013. However, the account is incomplete: the cruise-ship description stops mid-sentence, so its later growth and its overtaking of island stays in 2016–17 are not explained. Some trend descriptions are also imprecise; for example, the total rose from 1 million in 2010 to 2.75 million in 2015, but this was not a gradual increase at every point. Cover the full period and select the key comparisons more precisely to develop the summary more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate discussion of total and island visitors before turning to cruise-ship visitors. This gives the reader a generally coherent route through the information. Linking phrases such as “Overall,” “To begin with,” and “while” help signal relationships between points. However, the final paragraph ends abruptly after “reached at,” leaving the last series and the comparison unfinished. Some sentences also carry several stages of information at once, particularly the sentence about island visitors reaching 1.5 million, dipping in 2016, and returning to the earlier level. Use clearer sentence boundaries and complete each paragraph’s point so that progression and referencing remain consistently clear.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “significant rise,” “gradual increase,” “minor drop,” and “fluctuations,” which helps describe trends. The distinction between visitors staying on the island and on cruise ships is also maintained. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, such as “hike” for a rise in visitor numbers, “reached at,” and “the starting.” There are also spelling errors, including “vise-versa,” “nomimal,” “miilion,” and “crusie,” which reduce precision. Aim for standard chart-description phrases such as “rose to,” “stood at,” and “at the beginning,” and check spelling carefully. More precise vocabulary would make the comparisons easier to follow.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including clauses linked with “while” and “before,” and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to process. Examples include “total visitors at Caribbean island,” “the tourist visiting the island … were,” and “the number … reached at 2.75 million,” which show problems with articles, agreement, and sentence patterns. The long sentence beginning “The tourist staying on the island…” also lacks clear grammatical control as several clauses are joined together. Practise accurate subject–verb agreement and complete sentence structures, and use punctuation to separate trends. For example: “The total rose to 2.75 million in 2015 before reaching 3.5 million in 2017.”

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