Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 bar graph illustrates the number of visitors visiting a specific Caribbean island from 2010 to 2017.

Overall, it is easily visible that number of visitors were increased over the period , and more people were preffered like to staying on cruise ship compare to people who were like to staying on island.

In 2010 , 0.2 million people were staying on cruise , while 0.8 million people were staying on island, so total number reached at 1 million in 2010.For next year , number of people were increased who stayed on ships by 0.3 million , whereas number of island stayers remained same.In 2012, the public who staying at cruise were decreased to 0.2 million while people who staying on island were rose to 1.3 million and total visitors reached at 1.5 million.

For next three visitors who were staying at island remained same at 1.5 million and till 2015 people who were staying at ships increased significantly and reach at 1.2 million.In 2016,First time number of people who stayed at cruise were increased to 1.5 million compared to people who stayed at island who were 1.4 million.In 2017,the number of pepole who stayed at cruise surged to 2 million and isand stayers were 1.5 million.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover the main categories and the overall rise in total visitors, and you include relevant figures across the period. The account of cruise-ship visitors increasing to 2 million by 2017 and island visitors staying around 1.5 million near the end captures important features. However, the overview is unclear and inaccurate: “more people were preferred” on cruise ships is not true across the whole period, since island visitors outnumbered cruise visitors until 2016. Some figures also differ from the chart, such as 2010 cruise visitors (about 0.25 million, not 0.2) and the 2012 cruise figure (about 0.25, not a decrease to 0.2). Make the overview more precise and compare the two groups’ changing positions directly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and chronological detail in separate paragraphs. Time markers such as “In 2012,” “For next three” and “In 2017” help readers follow the sequence. However, the account relies heavily on year-by-year reporting, so the main comparisons are not developed as clearly as they could be. The overview’s comparison is also confusing, and phrases such as “For next three visitors” make the progression difficult to follow. Group the data into meaningful stages or compare the two visitor types together, and use clearer links between changes—for example, explain that island stays were higher initially, while cruise visitors caught up and then overtook them.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “remained same,” “increased significantly” and “surged,” and the reader can generally identify the two visitor groups. However, the range and control are limited by repeated wording such as “people who were staying” and awkward or inaccurate collocations, including “number of visitors were increased” and “preferred like to staying.” Several spelling errors, including “preffered,” “pepole” and “isand,” also reduce precision. Choose concise chart language such as “visitors staying on cruise ships” and “island-based visitors,” and use verbs that fit data descriptions, such as “rose,” “remained stable” and “overtook.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including comparisons with “while” and “whereas,” and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence boundaries occur in several places. For example, “number of visitors were increased” needs a different verb construction, while “number of people were increased who stayed on ships” has faulty word order and agreement. The opening overview also needs “the number” and a singular verb. Punctuation is inconsistent, with missing spaces after full stops and commas. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and build comparisons with a clear subject and verb, such as “Cruise-ship visitors rose, while the number staying on the island remained stable.”

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