Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-16

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 illustrate tourists population who visited a Caribbean island between 2010 and 2017.

Overall, the graph compares two types of visitors, the first one is those who stayed on cruise ships and the other one is who choosed to stay on island. The graph also showed a total growth in tourist population. It shows significant amount of growth in total.

In 2010, There have been just under 0.5 million people who came to stay on cruise and by the time, it increased at 0.5 in 2011. Later, it showed a gradual increase over the period with rising around 1 million visitors in every year. In 2017, the numbers came upto 2 million, these are the people who stayed on cruise ships.

Also in 2010, The people who were staying on island had just around 0.5 million and risen at 1.5 million in 2013. Although it was remained same in 2014 but after that it showed a slight decline and stated around 1.2 million in 2016. In 2017, it was increased again with having around 1.5 million tourists.

In total, the growth of visitors had gradual increase over the period.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the two visitor groups and the overall rise in total visitors, and you include several relevant figures, such as cruise-ship visitors reaching 2 million in 2017 and island visitors being about 1.5 million that year. However, the overview is repetitive and does not clearly highlight the main comparison: total numbers rose from about 1 million to 3.5 million, while cruise-ship visitors grew strongly and island-staying visitors changed much less. Some details are inaccurate or unclear: island visitors were about 0.75 million in 2010, not 0.5 million, and cruise-ship numbers fluctuated early on rather than increasing steadily. Develop a more precise overview and report the key trends accurately to address the task more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for cruise-ship and island visitors, followed by a comment on totals. This makes the two categories easy to locate. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Also,” and “Although” help connect ideas, and the sequence generally follows the years. However, the final paragraph repeats the overview without adding figures or a comparison, and some links are awkward or unclear, as in “by the time” and “after that it showed a slight decline.” Improve progression by grouping the main trends and comparisons together, and use references such as “this figure” only when their meaning is unmistakable.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “visitors,” “total,” “gradual increase,” “decline,” and “cruise ships,” so the reader can understand the subject. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are noticeably inaccurate. “Tourists population” is not a natural way to describe the figures, while “numbers came upto” and “growth in tourist population” are also awkward. There is repetition of “people,” “visitors,” and “growth,” and “stated around” does not clearly express a data value. Use precise reporting language such as “the number of visitors,” “stood at,” and “rose to,” while varying verbs appropriately to describe increases, stability, and fluctuations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast with “Although” and time clauses such as “by the time.” The main trends are usually understandable, but errors in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction are frequent enough to make some sentences awkward. For example, “The line graph illustrate” needs subject–verb agreement, “who choosed” has an incorrect past form, and “Although it was remained same” combines incompatible verb forms. “In 2010, There have been” also uses an unsuitable tense and capitalisation. Practise accurate past-simple reporting and build complex sentences around one clear main clause; this will make your comparisons easier to follow.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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