Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-22
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 7.5)
Introduction
The line graph illustrates the number of tourists who visited a particular Caribbean island between 2010 and 2017, with figures given in millions. It also shows the numbers of visitors who stayed on the island and those who stayed on cruise ships.
Overall
Overall, the total number of tourists increased considerably over the period. While the number of visitors staying on the island rose gradually at first before levelling off, the figure for cruise-ship visitors experienced a much sharper increase and eventually became the larger group.
Body Paragraph 1 – Total number of tourists
The total number of tourists stood at 1 million in 2010 and increased steadily to 1.5 million in 2012. It then climbed more rapidly, reaching 2 million in 2013 and approximately 2.6 million in 2014. The figure continued to rise to around 2.8 million in 2015, before remaining unchanged in 2016. Finally, it increased sharply to approximately 3.6 million in 2017, which was the highest figure recorded.
Body Paragraph 2 – Visitors staying on the island and cruise ships
The number of tourists who stayed on the island was about 0.75 million in 2010 and 2011, before rising to 1.25 million in 2012. It then reached 1.5 million in 2013 and remained stable through 2015. However, this figure fell slightly to around 1.25 million in 2016, before recovering to 1.5 million in 2017. In contrast, cruise-ship visitors increased substantially, from roughly 0.25 million in 2010 to 0.5 million in 2012, and then to 1 million in 2013. The figure continued to rise to 1.25 million in 2014 and 1.5 million in 2015, before reaching 2 million in 2016 and 2017. Thus, cruise-ship visitors overtook those staying on the island in the final two years.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 7.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 7.5 |
| Overall | 7.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5
The student covers all parts of the task well, providing a clear overview and effectively reporting the main features and comparisons. Data points such as 'stand at 1 million in 2010' and the peak in 2017 are accurately cited from the visual data. The trends for both categories of visitors and the total are well contrasted, particularly the crossover where cruise-ship visitors overtook those staying on the island. The response meets all the requirements for a high band by fully addressing the prompts without significant omissions or inaccuracies.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5
Information and ideas are logically sequenced throughout, supported by clear and appropriate paragraphing with distinct structural sections for the introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. Cohesive devices are managed well, using markers such as 'Overall', 'While', 'before', and 'In contrast' to link concepts smoothly and maintain a coherent progression of data.
Lexical Resource — Band 7.0
The student demonstrates a sufficient and flexible range of vocabulary suited to academic task reporting. Less common phrases such as 'levelling off', 'experienced a much sharper increase', and 'remained stable' are used accurately. Word choice and collocations are generally precise, with only occasional minor generalities that do not impede communication, showing good control overall.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.5
The student employs a wide variety of complex sentence structures effectively, including subordinate clauses ('While the number of visitors staying on the island rose gradually...') and participial phrases. The majority of sentences are error-free, with accurate punctuation and consistent past tense control used throughout the report.
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