Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-24
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 provided line graph illustrates the number of visitors residing on the island, visitors staying on cruise ships and the total number touring Caribbean Island (denominated in millions) from 2010 to 2017.
Overall, it is clear that total number of Caribbean Island visitors experienced a steady rise in the given timeframe. Furthermore, the number of tourists residing on cruise ships dipped a little after a short incline and then experienced a continuous growth undertaking visitors staying on the island.
The total number of visitors of Caribbean Island accounted for 1 million people in 2010. This Island became more popular as time went by and more people started visiting reaching a total of 1.5 million in 2012. The tourists gradually rose up every year 2 million in 2013 and 2.5 million in 2014. Then the figure plateaued around 2.75 million in 2015 and 2016 before eventually experiencing a sharp incline reaching its peak of 3.5 million tourists at 2017.
In contrast, number of tourists staying on cruise ships experienced a small decline to 0.25 million in 2012 after reaching 0.5 million in 2011. The figure then experienced a continuous growth and more people started staying on ships rather than island with the numbers reaching more than 1 million in 2015 before undertaking visitors staying on island and the highest number around 2 million visitors stayed on ships in 2017. The visitors staying on island started off around 0.75 million, experienced a slow growth reaching its highest point 1.5 million in 2013 before levelling off and then fluctuating a little before ending at 1.5 million in 2017.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5
The student covers all parts of the task well, providing an overview of the trends and successfully reporting the main features of the three categories across the timeline. The key data points, such as the starting and ending figures and the peaks, are accurately retrieved from the graph. For example, noting that the total number reached 3.5 million in 2017 and that cruise ship visitors peaked at 2 million aligns well with the visual data. The overview clearly highlights the overall upward trajectory and the crossover trend between cruise and island visitors. A minor weakness is that some of the intra-period fluctuations are slightly imprecise, but this does not detract from the overall clarity and adequacy of the response, fulfilling the Band 7 criteria.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5
The response features a clear logical organization with an introduction, an overview paragraph, and well-structured body paragraphs detailing the categories. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well to connect ideas, such as 'Furthermore', 'Then', and 'In contrast'. However, referencing and transitions occasionally feel a bit mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'The figure then experienced...' or 'The visitors staying on island started off...'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the overall trends from specific data points. Overall arrangement is coherent and easy to follow, supporting a solid Band 6.5 or 7.0 performance.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for task 1, including terms like 'plateaued', 'sharp incline', 'fluctuating', and 'residing on the island'. There are occasional awkward word choices or collocations, such as 'visitors residing on the island' instead of 'staying on the island', and the misuse of the verb 'undertaking' instead of 'surpassing' or 'overtaking' when comparing visitor numbers. Spelling is generally accurate, and vocabulary is sufficient to convey the meaning clearly, representing a steady Band 6 performance.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating relative clauses and adverbial phrases of time. There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings throughout the text, such as missing articles ('number of tourists', 'total number of visitors of Caribbean Island'), prepositions ('at 2017' instead of 'in 2017'), and dangling modifiers or awkward gerund phrases ('undertaking visitors staying on island'). Despite these frequent errors, they rarely impede communication, and the overall meaning remains clear. This corresponds closely to the Band 6 descriptor.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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