Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-26

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 the number of visitors visiting a particular Caribbean island from 2010 to 2017.

Overall, it's clearly seen that the total number of visitors increased throughout the years except in 2016 where it dropped and then increased immediately, furthermore, vistors staying on cruise ships overtook visitors staying on island in 2006.

In 2010, visitors staying on the cruise ships start at about 0.3 millions tourists and it jumped immediately to 0.5 millions visitors in 2011, although it fall back to about 0.3 millions in 2012, thou it icreased again to 0.5 millions, and in 2016, it overtook visitors staying on island, and by the year 2017 it had reached to a limit of 2 millions visitors.

Visitors staying on islands increased almost throughout the years except in 2016 where it declined to about 0.8 millions visitors and then rised to 1 million tourists. In contrast, all the vistors increased in 2017, and the total number of the visitors saw the highest rised at 3.5 millions visitors.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the overall rise in visitor numbers and describe both accommodation groups, which gives the report relevant coverage. However, the overview contains two important inaccuracies: the total did not drop in 2016; it remained at about 2.75 million, and cruise-ship visitors overtook island visitors in 2016, not 2006. The island-stay figures are also misreported: they rose to about 1.5 million, dipped only to around 1.25 million in 2016, then returned to 1.5 million—not 0.8 and 1 million. These errors weaken the accuracy of the main features, while some comparisons and the overall pattern are still recognised. Check each series against the graph before summarising it.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and separate discussion of the two visitor groups. This makes the information reasonably easy to follow. You also use linking expressions such as “Overall,” “although,” and “In contrast” to signal relationships. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear: “furthermore” joins two distinct overview points, and “In contrast, all the visitors increased in 2017” does not clearly explain the contrast. The long sentence tracing cruise-ship numbers through several years also packs too many stages together. Use shorter sentences and organise the figures into clearer comparisons, such as the steady rise in cruise visitors against the broadly stable island-stay total.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “total number,” “visitors staying on cruise ships,” “declined,” and “increased,” so the reader can understand the subject and general trends. There is some repetition of “visitors” and “increased,” and several word choices or forms are inaccurate, including “highest rised,” “reached to a limit,” and “millions tourists.” Spelling slips such as “vistors” and “icreased” also reduce control. Aim for precise, natural collocations used in data reports: for example, say that a figure “reached 2 million” or “rose to a peak of 3.5 million.” Varying trend verbs would also make the account more concise and exact.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a sentence with “although” and a comparison introduced by “where.” However, control is uneven, particularly in longer sentences. Examples include “it fall back” and “then rised,” where the past-tense forms are incorrect, and “visitors staying on the cruise ships start,” where the tense does not match the past period being described. There are also problems with articles, plurals, and sentence construction in phrases such as “0.3 millions tourists” and “the highest rised.” These errors sometimes make the timeline or meaning less clear. Use consistent past tense and check subject–verb agreement and singular/plural forms, especially when describing figures.

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