Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-30

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)

A place people dream about is the carribean island and number of tourists visiting carribean island in 2017 is above than the number in 2010. In the graph two types of data is shown with three lines, one number of visitors stayingon cruiseship, two number of visitors staying on island, three is the total of these two. In 2010 tourists number was not very large and only few people visited it however in 2010 the number of tourist staying on island is more than the ones staying in cruise ships. In 2011 the visitors staying on island remains the same but an increase can be seen on the people in cruiseships, people are starting to recognize this place now, and this is becoming tourist attraction point now, but in 2012 an unexpected turn take over, visitors staying on island is increased by 0.5M point but the people on cruiseships this number decreases, that means people are now preferring to enjoy on the island rather than staying on the cruiseship, this is a positive change among the tourists, but as the next year comes visitors preference again changes and now both styaing on island and staying on cruiseship increases by 0.25M point. In 2014, a big increase is observed same as the 2012 but the only difference is the preference of the visitors, staying on cruise ships increases by 1 but staying on island remains the same despite this the number of people staying on island is above than the ones staying on cruise ships from 2010 till now. In 2015 the island ones are still above but from 2014 this number this nu ber doesn't change while the one's staying on cruiseship increases by 0.25M point and the difference between them is 0.25M now. In 2016 things have taken another turn and now people staying on cruise ships is more than the ones staying in island and the more interesting thing is decrease of 0.25M in the people staying on island. In the next year cruise ship preference increases by 0.5M and people staying on island by 0.25M. At 2010 0.5M people was the difference between both preferences and by 2017 the difference is the same, but the total number of visitors has increased from 1M to 3.5M and the total number of visitors is always increasing despite the decrease in any one of the preferences.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover the main series and report several relevant changes, including the overall rise in total visitors from 1 million in 2010 to 3.5 million in 2017. You also identify the shift in 2016, when cruise-ship visitors exceeded those staying on the island. These are important features and broadly match the graph. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: in 2014 cruise-ship visitors rose to 1 million, not by 1 million, and the island figure was still higher in 2016, not lower than the cruise-ship figure. The overview is also implicit rather than clearly summarising the dominant trends. Focus on accurate key comparisons and avoid unsupported explanations about tourists’ motives or the island becoming an attraction.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response follows the years in sequence, so the reader can trace changes over time, and phrases such as “In 2014” and “In 2016” provide some signposting. However, the account is presented as one long paragraph, with many ideas joined by “and,” “but,” and “however.” This makes the progression feel repetitive and sometimes obscures the comparisons. For example, the discussion of 2012 moves from figures to an explanation of tourist preferences without a clear separation. Organise the response into an introduction, a concise overview, and one or two detail paragraphs grouped by trend. Use linking expressions selectively and make references such as “this number” explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “visitors,” “total,” “increases,” “decreases,” and “difference,” which helps communicate the graph’s subject. There are also attempts at more specific phrasing, such as “preference” and “tourist attraction.” However, several expressions are repetitive or imprecise, including “people staying on island” and “number of tourists,” while “above than” and “0.25M point” are unnatural collocations. Spelling slips such as “carribean,” “styaing,” and “nu ber” also reduce accuracy. Build a more precise range for describing data—such as “stood at,” “rose to,” and “remained stable”—and check spelling and collocation when editing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including clauses linked with “while,” “but,” and “despite,” and the general meaning is usually recoverable. However, many sentences are overloaded with clauses and punctuation is often missing, making relationships between ideas difficult to follow. There are also recurring errors in agreement and verb forms: “two types of data is shown,” “the visitors … remains,” and “an unexpected turn take over.” Articles and sentence patterns are sometimes inaccurate, as in “staying on island” and “At 2010.” Use shorter sentences to report each comparison, check subject–verb agreement, and punctuate clauses clearly. This would make your range of structures more controlled and easier to read.

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