Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-13
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 illustrates the number of visitors (in millions) to a caribbean island from 2010 to 2017, categorized into two types, those who stays on cruise ships, and other visitors who are staying on the island.
Overall, the number of tourists have showed a steady growth with the time period. Initially it was about 1 million and increased to 3.5 million by 2017.
First and foremost, the visitors staying on the island showed a stable growth till 2011 and later increased to 1.5 million in 2013 and remain at 1.5 million visitors till 2015. After 2015 it slightly dropped to 1.25 million in 2016 and again reached to 1.5 million by 2017.
The visitors staying on cruise ships, initially got a growth of 0.25 million in 2011 and a decline of 0.25 million in 2012. After 2012 it got showed a very healthy growth and by 2016 it surpassed the visitors staying on the island by reaching 1.5 million visitors in 2016. At last 2 million visitors have visited the caribbean island by staying on the cruise ships.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the line graph and making relevant comparisons between the two categories of tourists. An overview is provided, noting the steady overall growth from about 1 million to 3.5 million by 2017. Key data points are selected and reported, such as the peak of the island-stay visitors and the cruise ship visitors surpassing them by 2016. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in reading the specific figures from the chart, particularly in the final year where cruise ship visitors reached 2 million while total visitors reached 3.5 million, leading to minor gaps in fully precise data representation. Nevertheless, the response fulfills the requirements of Task 1 well.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is structured into logical paragraphs, beginning with an introduction, followed by a clear overall statement, and distinct body paragraphs for each category of tourist. Cohesive devices such as 'Initially', 'After 2012', and 'Overall' are employed to guide the reader through the data. However, referencing and cohesion occasionally feel a bit mechanical or repetitive, such as the repeated use of 'after 2012 it got showed' and 'the visitors staying on'. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, creating a clear logical progression throughout the text.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common terms such as 'categorized', 'surpassed', and 'decline'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'those who stays on cruise ships' (grammatical agreement error affecting lexical flow), 'got a growth', and 'got showed a very healthy growth'. Spelling is generally accurate, but the precision in vocabulary is limited by unnatural phrasal combinations and awkward phrasing. The lexical range is sufficient to convey the main features of the graph, but frequent minor lexical inaccuracies prevent it from reaching a higher band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at relative clauses ('those who stays on cruise ships') and temporal adverbial clauses. However, there are persistent grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues like 'those who stays', incorrect passive/active constructions such as 'got showed', and awkward verb tenses ('have showed', 'remain' instead of 'remained'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while these errors do not impede overall communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the grammar score from rising into the higher bands.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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