Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-14
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 provided line graph illustrates the number of tourists visiting a particular Caribbean island between 2010 to 2017.
Overall, despite some fluctuations, every type of visitors was increased significantly throughout the period. Total visitors made the highest contribution throughout, while visitors staying on island witnessed the lowest share in 2017.
Total visitors started at the highest point 1 million in 2010, and then the figure surged up sharply to around 2.8 million in 2015, before peaking at about 3.5 million in 2017, higher than any other type of visitors. In contrast, visitors staying on cruise ships recorded the lowest figure in 2010 around 0.3 million, and then the figure increased from 0.5 million in 2011 to 1 million in 2014, prior to further rising to 2 million in 2017.
Visitors staying on island accounted for approximately 0.7 million in 2010, and rose steadily to 1.5 million in 2013, then declined to around 1.2 million in 2016, before rising again to 1.5 million to 2017.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0
The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the line graph regarding tourist arrivals in the Caribbean from 2010 to 2017. Key data points are selected and presented accurately, such as the total visitors starting at 1 million in 2010 and peaking at 3.5 million in 2017. Relevant comparisons are made between the different categories, distinguishing between total visitors, those staying on cruise ships, and those staying on the island. While there is a slight error in the overview stating that "every type of visitors was increased significantly" (given that island stayers experienced a dip before recovering), the overall response is well-supported with specific figures, earning a solid Band 7.0 for Task Achievement.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5
The response demonstrates a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Information is grouped appropriately into paragraphs: an introduction, an overview paragraph capturing general trends and comparisons, and specific body paragraphs detailing the categories. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as "Overall," "In contrast," and "prior to further rising," though some transitions feel slightly mechanical or clunky, like "before rising again to 1.5 million to 2010" (which contains a minor preposition slip). Paragraphing is handled sufficiently and appropriately to guide the reader through the data, supporting a Band 6.5 score.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for an Academic Task 1 response, employing terms such as "illustrates," "fluctuations," "surged up sharply," and "accounted for." However, there are some noticeable word choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as "every type of visitors was increased" (where 'visitors' should be 'visitor types' or 'categories', and the verb should be active 'increased') and minor prepositional awkwardness like "to 2010" instead of "in 2010". Less common items are attempted with mixed success, placing the response comfortably at Band 6.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and time clauses effectively (e.g., "before peaking at about 3.5 million in 2017, higher than any other type of visitors"). However, there are several grammatical errors and awkward structures, such as passive/active confusion in "every type of visitors was increased" and preposition errors like "to 2010" at the end of the text. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but the grammatical inaccuracies prevent the response from reaching higher bands, making Band 6.0 an appropriate score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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