Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-07

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 line graph illustrates the number of visitors who have stayed on cruise ship or island during their visit to a specific Caribbean island between 2010 and 2017.

Overall, it is evident that the total number of tourists visiting that Caribbean island has reached to a peak in 2017. While the number of vistors staying on cruise ship considerably surged during the period, a minor fluctuation was witnessed in the trend of people staying on island.

The Caribbean island offers people with two types of accomadation, wheather staying on cruise ships or on the island. However, visitors showed a remarkable shift in staying on cruise ship while visiting there, increasing from about 0.25 million to 2 million in 2017. Similarly, people choosing island for staying has indicated a gradual rise with a small drop at 1.25 million in 2016. Additionally, it remained unchanged at 1.5 millions for 2 years from 2015 to 2017.

In general, the total number of tourists has significantly incread during the period and stood at 3.5 million in 2017. It has more than tripled its number that was in 2010.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response identifies the main overall pattern: total visitor numbers rose to 3.5 million in 2017, cruise-ship visitors increased substantially, and island-stayers changed comparatively little. It also selects relevant figures, including the rise from about 0.25 to 2 million for cruise passengers and the island figure of 1.25 million in 2016. These points address the task and are generally supported by the chart. However, the overview could compare the two accommodation groups more precisely: island-stayers were the larger group until 2015, while cruise-ship visitors overtook them in 2016. The claim that the total “more than tripled” is also inaccurate: it rose from 1 million to 3.5 million, or three and a half times its initial level. A clearer account of these comparisons would strengthen the report.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure, moving from an introduction to an overview and then to details, with a final sentence returning to the total trend. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Similarly,” and “Additionally” help signal relationships between points. This gives the report a coherent progression. However, the final paragraph repeats the total’s increase already mentioned in the overview, while the body could use that space to organise the two accommodation trends more systematically. The sentence beginning “The Caribbean island offers people…” is also a general comment rather than a useful step in the data description, interrupting the progression. At this level, cohesion is generally effective, but some links and paragraph content feel mechanical or repetitive; clearer grouping and less repetition would make the sequence more fluent.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The response uses an adequate range of task-related vocabulary, including “total number,” “fluctuation,” “gradual rise,” and “remained unchanged.” These choices communicate the main trends, and the writer attempts more descriptive language such as “considerably surged.” However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural: “reached to a peak,” “offers people with two types of accommodation,” and “a remarkable shift in staying on cruise ship” do not express the data naturally. There are also spelling errors, including “vistors,” “accomadation,” “wheather,” and “incread.” Aim for precise chart-reporting phrases such as “rose sharply,” “stayed on the island,” and “the total peaked at,” and check spelling carefully. The meaning remains clear despite these slips.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

There is a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including the contrast in “While the number … surged …, a minor fluctuation was witnessed…” and the relative clause “that was in 2010.” Most sentences remain understandable, and the writer uses past-tense reporting appropriately in several places. Some grammatical errors are present, however. For example, “has reached to a peak” uses an unnecessary preposition, and “people choosing island for staying has indicated” has problems with the article, verb agreement, and tense. “It remained unchanged at 1.5 millions for 2 years from 2015 to 2017” also has a plural-form error and an unclear time span, since the figure falls in 2016. Review articles, subject–verb agreement, and tense consistency, while continuing to practise varied sentence structures.

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