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 graph illustrates how many people visited a particular caribbean island in between year 2010 and 2017.

Overall, the total number of visitors gradually seems to have positively surged over the period of seven years reaching to over 2.6 millions of visitors at the end of the period. Although both the number of visitors residing on cruise ships and visitors staying on island seems to have inclined over the period of years some fluctuations can be noticed.

Tourists residing on cruise ships were arounf 0.2 millions at the initial phase of 2010 which then seems a positive inclinition to 0.5 millions then declined to the same level as of 2010 then from 2013 seems to have surged dramatically plateuing nymber of visitors staying on island in middle period between 2015 and 2016 then again inclined till the end of period at 2 millions of visitors.

However, the number of people staying on island were much higher at 2010 at around 0.7 millions of visitors it seems constant till 2011 them surged till 2013 reaching around 1.5 millions , remaining sustainable till 2015. It is noticed to coincide at similar number in between 2015 and 2016 following a decrease in year 2016 then again levelling off on previous data of 2013 to 2015.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover the main components of the graph and identify the overall rise in total visitors, as well as the contrasting patterns for cruise-ship and island stays. Several figures and trends are reported accurately, including the island-stay plateau around 1.5 million and the cruise-ship figure reaching 2 million in 2017. However, the overview says the total exceeded 2.6 million, whereas it reached about 3.5 million, and the cruise-ship account is difficult to follow around 2013–2016. The key comparison—that cruise-ship visitors overtook island visitors by 2017—would also strengthen the summary. The response addresses the task, but some details are unclear or less fully reported.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction and overview are followed by separate descriptions of the two visitor groups. This gives the reader a basic route through the information. However, progression within the detail paragraphs is weakened by long, crowded sentences, especially the cruise-ship account, where several years and changes are joined together without clear boundaries. Linking phrases such as “However” and “It is noticed” do not always show the relationship between the data clearly, and the final sentence repeats the island-stay plateau and decline. Use shorter sentences organised chronologically, and make comparisons explicit—for example, explain when cruise-ship numbers begin to catch up with island stays.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt a range of vocabulary for describing trends, including “surged,” “declined,” “fluctuations” and “levelling off,” which is appropriate to the task. However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “positively surged,” “inclinition,” “plateuing nymber,” and “remaining sustainable.” Spelling errors, including “arounf” and “nymber,” also reduce precision. Some expressions are unnecessarily elaborate, making the data harder to understand rather than more precise. Aim for standard chart language and check spelling: terms such as “rose,” “fell,” “remained stable” and “reached” are often clearer. This would make your adequate range more controlled and reliable.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use both simple statements and more complex forms, including clauses beginning with “Although” and “which,” so there is some variety in sentence structure. Meaning is generally recoverable, but some grammatical errors and awkward constructions remain. For example, “in between year 2010 and 2017” has problems with articles and prepositions, while “the number … seems to have inclined” has subject–verb agreement issues. The long sentence beginning “Tourists residing on cruise ships were…” also lacks clear grammatical control as it moves through several changes. Use consistent past-tense reporting, check singular subjects such as “the number,” and divide sequences into complete sentences. These changes would improve accuracy while retaining your attempts at complex structures.

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