Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-21
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 tracks the number of tourists visiting a particular Caribbean
island from 2010 to 2017.
Overall, the number of tourists in all three categories increased over time.
The total number of visitors who visited the Caribbean island remained on top.while those who satyed on island was the lowest category.
By 2010, the number of total visitors was 1 million, the figure increased gradually and reached 1.5 million in 2012. After 2012 the number of tourists rose rapidly and showed peak, reached to 3.5 million by 2017. This category become highest among all. While the total number of visitors who stayed on the cruise ship started from 0.3 million in 2010 and experienced a little decline before reaching 1 million in 2014 and around 2 million in 2017.
This categroy ranked second.
In contrast, the number of tourists who stayed on island during their journey
was 0.7 million in 2010. The figure rose from 0.7 millon and reached 1.5 million in 2013 and remained consistent before declining and recovering back 1.5 million in 2017.This category remained at lowest among all.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5
You cover the main features and provide a clear overview: total visitor numbers rose overall, while island-based visitors were the smallest category. The figures are generally accurate, including the total reaching about 3.5 million in 2017 and island visitors reaching 1.5 million in 2013. You also identify the cruise-ship series’ overall rise. To make the account more complete, clarify that cruise-ship numbers fluctuated early on, rather than describing this as a “little decline” after starting at 0.3 million; they rose from about 0.25 million in 2010 to 0.5 million in 2011 before falling. The overview’s claim that all three categories increased is broadly valid, but could distinguish the total’s steady rise from the island figure’s later fluctuation. The response already shows some higher-level selection of key trends, but precision and development are not consistent throughout.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction and overview are followed by paragraphs describing the total and cruise-ship figures, then island visitors. This grouping helps the reader follow the main categories. However, progression within sentences and between ideas is sometimes awkward or repetitive. For example, “After 2012 the number of tourists rose rapidly and showed peak, reached to 3.5 million” strings together several stages without a smooth grammatical link, and “This category become highest among all” repeats the overview rather than adding information. The contrast marker “In contrast” is understandable, but the relationship between the series could be made clearer. Use fewer repeated category summaries and connect changes with precise sequencing, such as “thereafter” or “by comparison,” while keeping each paragraph focused.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use relevant vocabulary for describing a graph, including “increased,” “reached,” “declining,” “recovering,” and “remained consistent.” This gives you enough range to report the main movements, and the meaning is generally clear. However, several word-choice, collocation, and spelling problems reduce precision: “showed peak” is not a natural phrase, “sat on island” is unsuitable for this context, and “ranked second” is less natural than describing the series as the second-largest category. There are also spelling slips such as “satyed,” “categroy,” and “millon.” Aim for accurate graph language and check spelling carefully; a few well-chosen terms such as “peaked,” “fluctuated,” and “levelled off” would make the description more precise without forcing overly formal vocabulary.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You attempt both simple and more developed sentence forms, and the reader can usually understand the comparisons and trends. However, errors in sentence construction and verb forms are frequent enough to make some sentences awkward. For example, “the figure increased gradually and reached 1.5 million” needs clearer punctuation when joined to the next clause, while “showed peak, reached to 3.5 million” has an incomplete or faulty verb pattern. “This category become highest” also has incorrect tense and article use, and “remained consistent before declining and recovering back 1.5 million” lacks a necessary preposition. Sentence boundaries are sometimes unclear, as in “on top.while.” Practise forming complete clauses with accurate past-tense verbs, articles, and punctuation, then combine them using controlled complex structures.
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