Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-06

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 below demonstrates how the number of tourists visiting a Caribbean island between 2010 and 2017. here are two accommodations of visitors. 1. visitors staying on cruise ships 2. visitors stayed on island.

Overall, the total number of tourists rose considerably over the period, and cruise ships stays grew faster than island stays, eventually overtaking them.

In 2010, the island welcomed approximately 1 million visitors in total. Of these, around 0.75 million stayed on the island and 0.25 million stayed on the cruise ships. The number of island stays calm then grew rapidly to reach roughly 1.5 million in 2013, after which it remained relatively same through out the next 2 years until the end of the period but some changes was still made.

By contrast, cruise ship stays increased steadily from 2013 onwards and rose to a peak of about 2 million in 2017. They surpassed island stays between 2015 and 2016.

The total figure followed the same upward pattern, growing gradually to around 2.7 million in 2015 and levelling off in 2016, before rising sharply to 3.5 million in 2017.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by presenting an overview of the main trends and making relevant comparisons between the two categories of tourists. The main features, such as the initial higher number of island stays and the eventual overtaking by cruise ship visitors, are clearly highlighted and supported by appropriate data figures from the graph. The overview captures the overall upward pattern effectively. However, certain details are slightly under-developed or less precise, such as the description of the island stays remaining relatively the same or the slight imprecision in the total figure reported for 2015. To reach a higher band, the reporting of data points could be slightly more accurate and consistently integrated into the comparative analysis throughout the description.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The text maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a clear division into an introduction, an overview paragraph, and body paragraphs detailing the specific data trends. Information is generally ordered logically, beginning with the overall trajectory and moving into chronological specifics for each visitor type. Cohesive devices are used to signal shifts, such as 'By contrast', though some linking and referencing are a bit mechanical or faulty, seen in minor structural slips like 'The number of island stays calm then grew rapidly'. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to structure the response, but smoother transitions between sentences would enhance the overall progression and flow of ideas, helping the response move toward more seamless cohesive control.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully employing terms like 'considerably', 'steadily', 'peak', and 'levelling off' to describe statistical trends. There are, however, noticeable lexical inaccuracies and awkward word choices, such as 'accommodations of visitors' instead of categories, and typographical or word-form slips like 'calm then' and 'through out'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with mixed success. While these errors do not seriously impede communication, they reflect a limited precision in word choice and collocation that prevents the response from achieving a higher score in this category.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writing exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at varied structures such as relative clauses and introductory prepositional phrases. Grammatical control is mixed; there are some error-free sentences, but several errors in grammar, punctuation, and sentence construction occur, such as the incomplete opening sentence ('demonstrates how the number of tourists visiting a Caribbean island between 2010 and 2017.') and awkward phrasing like 'some changes was still made.' Subject-verb agreement and tense consistency show occasional lapses. These errors rarely impede overall communication, but their presence keeps the grammatical accuracy firmly at the current level.

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