Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-24

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 6.0)

The line graph shows the number of tourists who visited a Caribbean island from 2010 to 2017. It gives information about tourists staying on the island, tourists staying on cruise ships, and the total number of visitors.

Overall, the total number of tourists increased during the period. The number of tourists staying on the island also increased, while the number staying on cruise ships had some changes but rose strongly at the end.

In 2010, there were about 1 million tourists in total. Around 0.75 million stayed on the island, while only 0.25 million stayed on cruise ships. In 2011, the number staying on the island stayed the same, but cruise-ship visitors increased to 0.5 million. In 2012, cruise visitors decreased to 0.25 million, while island visitors increased to 1.25 million.

From 2013 to 2015, the number of tourists staying on the island was about 1.5 million. However, it fell to around 1.25 million in 2016 and went back to 1.5 million in 2017. Cruise-ship visitors increased to 2 million in 2017. As a result, the total number reached 3.5 million in the final year.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response covers all key features of the graph, including the total number of visitors and the two sub-categories. You have successfully identified the main trends and provided relevant data points to support your descriptions. The overview is clear and highlights the general upward trend. To reach a higher band, ensure that comparisons are more explicit; for example, instead of just listing figures, you could contrast the growth rates of island-staying tourists versus cruise-ship passengers more directly. Overall, the response is well-focused and meets the requirements of the task effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, overview, and body paragraphs that group information chronologically. The progression of ideas is easy to follow. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'In 2010', 'From 2013 to 2015', and 'However' to link sentences and paragraphs. To improve, try to vary your cohesive devices further to avoid repetitive sentence structures. While the paragraphing is appropriate, the flow between sentences could be made more sophisticated by using more varied transition words to better connect the data points.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'total number', 'increased', 'decreased', and 'rose strongly'. The language is generally accurate and appropriate for a report. However, the vocabulary is somewhat repetitive, relying heavily on 'increased' and 'staying on'. To achieve a higher band, incorporate a wider variety of synonyms and more precise collocations related to data trends, such as 'fluctuated', 'surged', or 'remained stable'. The current range is sufficient for the task but lacks the flexibility and precision required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. Most sentences are clear and error-free, which ensures that communication is never impeded. You have good control over basic grammar, such as subject-verb agreement and tense usage (past simple for the data). To improve, try to integrate more complex grammatical structures, such as relative clauses or participle phrases, to describe the data more fluidly. For example, instead of 'In 2012, cruise visitors decreased to 0.25 million, while island visitors increased to 1.25 million', you could use 'While cruise visitors decreased to 0.25 million in 2012, island visitors saw an increase to 1.25 million'.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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