Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-20
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 GRAPHS ILLUSTRATE THE NUMBER OF TOURIST VISSITNG IN A CARRIBIEN ISLAND BETWEEN 2010 AND 2017.IT SHOWS THE NUMBER OF VISITORS,AS WELL AS THOSE WHO STAYING ONE ISLAND AND CRUISE SHIPS.
OVERALL,THE NUMBER TOTAL VISITORS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED TROUGH THE PERIOD,WHILE STAYING VISITORS IN CRUISE SHIPS ROSE INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY BEFORE 2013.VISITORS STAYING ON ISLAND RELETIVELY STABLE AFTER 2013
IN 2010,THE ISLAND RECIVED 1 MILLION TOURIST IN TOTAL,THEN THE FIAGURE ROSE TO 1.5 MILLION IN 2012 AND 2 MILLION IN 2013.THE TOTAL NUMBER OF CONTIUED RISE TO APPROXIMATELY 2.5 MILLION IN 2014 AND 2.8 MILION IN 2015.IT REMAINE STABLE UNTIL 2016.BEFORE CLIMBING SHARPLY TO THE PEAK AROUND 3.5 MILLION IN 2017
REGARDING,VISITORS STAYING ON CRUISE SHIPS,THE FIAGURE THEN STARTED AT ABOUT 0.3 MILLION IN 2010.BEFORE GROWING SHARPLY IN 2011 VISITORS STAYING ON CRUISE SHIPS ABOUT 0.5 MILLION.THEN THE FIAGURE FELL INTO O.3 MILLION VISITOR,BEFORE GROWING SHAPLY FROM 0.5 MILLION IN 2013 TO ABOUT 2 MILLION IN 2017.
MEANWHILE VISITORS STAYING ON ISLAND THE FIAGURE THEN STARTED FORM 0.75 MILLION IN 2007.AND REMAINED UNCHANGED IN 2011.AFTER THAT THE FIAGURE ROSE TO 1.5 MILLION IN 2013.THEN IT REMAIN STABLE UNTIL 2015.BEFORE FALLING DOWN ABOUT 1.3 MILION,AND RECOVRED IN 2017 ABOUT 1.5 MILLION
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
You cover the overall rise in total visitors and describe both accommodation categories, with several relevant figures, including the total reaching about 3.5 million in 2017 and island stays remaining broadly stable after 2013. However, the overview is not fully clear: cruise-ship visitors did not rise significantly only before 2013; their strongest sustained growth occurred from 2013 to 2017. There is also a factual error in saying island visitors began at 0.75 million in 2007; the chart starts in 2010, at about 0.75 million. Some changes are reported imprecisely, such as the total being stable until 2016, when it was approximately unchanged from 2015 to 2016. Select the main trends accurately and make the overview more precise.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for the total and the two visitor groups. This makes the main categories easy to identify. However, progression within sentences is sometimes awkward or repetitive, particularly in the cruise-ship paragraph: “The figure then started… Before growing…” leaves a fragment, and “then” is used repeatedly. The island paragraph also moves from the incorrect starting year to later figures without a smooth explanation. Use complete sentences and clearer links to show how each series changes over time. Grouping the total trend together and then comparing the two visitor types would also make the relationships between the figures easier to follow.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
You use relevant task vocabulary such as “total,” “remained stable,” “rose,” and “peak,” and these choices help communicate the main trends. However, the range is limited and several noticeable spelling and word-choice errors reduce clarity, including “vissitng,” “carribien,” “fiagure,” and “recovred.” Some combinations are also unnatural, such as “fell into 0.3 million” and “falling down about 1.3 million.” Aim for accurate, conventional language for describing data: figures can “fall to” a value, “recover to” a value, or “reach a peak.” Proofreading spelling and choosing precise trend verbs would make the report more fluent and reliable.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You attempt to describe changes across time and use some longer sentence patterns, but control is inconsistent. Several sentences are incomplete or joined incorrectly, for example, “The figure then started at about 0.3 million in 2010. Before growing sharply…” and “It remained stable until 2016. Before climbing sharply…”. Verb forms and sentence structure also cause problems in phrases such as “the number total visitors significantly increased” and “it remain stable.” Capitalising nearly every word and omitting spaces after full stops further disrupts punctuation. Practise writing complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and check tense consistency when reporting past data. More accurate simple structures will help before adding complex clauses.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.