Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-04

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 6.5)

The graph illustrates the duration of 7 years between 2010 and 2017, during which millions of visitors visited a specific Caribbean island.

Overall, a total of 3.5 million tourists stayed on the island. Some guests stayed on the cruise ships, and others on the island. A significant increase was shown in both types. The combined effect demonstrated a dramatic increase in visitors.

The visitors staying on the cruise ships were approximately 0.3 million, but in 2011, it moderately increased to 0.5 million, while in 2012, it fell to 0.3 million again. In 2013, it reached 0.5 million tourists, then showed an upward trend until 2017, peaking at 2 million visitors.

The guests staying on the island, in 2010, numbered nearly 0.7 million and remained the same until 2011. After that, it showed a subsequent increase until 2015 and reached 1.5 million tourists, while in 2016, it dropped to 1.3 million, and in the last year, it again climbed to 1.5 million.

The total lines showed that the trend fluctuated during these 7 years. It started from 1 million and touched 3.5 million. Hence , the number of visitors to the Caribbean island peaked during these years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have successfully identified the main trends and provided a clear overview of the data. You covered both categories (cruise ship and island visitors) and included relevant data points to support your descriptions. However, the report could be improved by more precise comparisons between the two categories. For instance, noting that island visitors consistently outnumbered cruise ship visitors for most of the period would strengthen the analysis. Additionally, ensure that the data points cited are accurate; for example, stating that the total reached 3.5 million is a good summary, but ensure the distinction between the categories and the total is always clear to the reader.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a concluding summary. You use paragraphing effectively to separate the two categories of visitors. Cohesive devices such as 'while', 'after that', and 'hence' are used to link ideas, although some transitions feel slightly mechanical. The progression of information is generally clear, moving from the overall trend to specific details for each category. To reach a higher band, focus on using a wider variety of cohesive devices to improve the flow between sentences and avoid repetitive sentence structures.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'upward trend', 'peaking', and 'fluctuated' appropriately. There is some repetition of basic verbs like 'showed' and 'reached'. To improve, try to incorporate more varied reporting verbs and descriptive adjectives to characterize the changes in the data. While your word choice is generally accurate and does not impede communication, the range is somewhat limited. Using more sophisticated collocations would help elevate your score in this criterion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. There are some minor grammatical slips, such as 'The total lines showed that the trend fluctuated', where 'The total figures' would be more precise. Additionally, there are occasional punctuation issues, such as the space before the comma in 'Hence ,'. Most of your sentences are clear and error-free, and your control of tense is generally consistent. To improve, focus on refining your use of articles and ensuring subject-verb agreement in more complex sentence constructions.

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

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