Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-08

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 illustrates the information about the tourists (counted in millions) who visited a specific Caribbean island from 2010 to 2017.

Overall, the total number of visitors surged over the period, while the number of visitors who stayed on island were higher initally, but visitors on cruise ships overtook them and peaked at the end.

In 2010, 1 million people visited the Caribbean island, which saw a significant growth over till 2015 then experienced plateau with 2.75 million visitors which rose again in 2017 to 3.5 million.

In 2010, visitors who stayed at the island were 0.75 million then grew slightly to 1.25 million and experienced plateau from 2013 to 2016 with 1.5 million visitors which rose to 2 million in 2017. However, visitors who stayed on cruise ships were 0.25 million initally, which rose to 1 million in 2015, and it surpassed the visitors who stayed on island in 2015, rose to 1.5 million before witnessing a surge to 2 million in 2017.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You provide a clear overview of the overall rise and the changing relationship between the two visitor groups, and you include several relevant figures. The total is correctly described as reaching 2.75 million in 2015 and 3.5 million in 2017. However, some details are inaccurate: the island-staying figure did not rise to 2 million in 2017; it was about 1.5 million. Cruise-ship visitors reached 1 million in 2014, not 2015, and overtook island visitors in 2016 rather than 2015. The overview also says the total plateaued after 2015, but it rose slightly in 2016. More precise reporting of these comparisons, alongside the broad trends you identify, would make the summary more complete and reliable.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs reporting figures. This makes the main information easy to locate, and linking expressions such as “Overall,” “However,” and “then” help show relationships between trends. Some sequencing and reference are less clear, however. The final paragraph moves between the island and cruise-ship figures in a long sentence, making the comparisons harder to follow; the claim that cruise visitors “surpassed” island visitors would be clearer if tied directly to the year. Repeated openings such as “In 2010” also make the progression somewhat mechanical. Organise the two series in a more balanced comparison and use shorter sentences where several changes are being reported.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for describing a line graph, including “surged,” “plateau,” “overtook,” and “peaked,” and the meaning is generally clear. There are also some imprecise or unnatural choices: “the information about the tourists” is less direct than “the number of tourists,” while “significant growth over till 2015” is not a natural collocation. “Visitors who stayed on island” needs a more natural phrasing, such as “visitors staying on the island.” The spelling errors “initally” and “initially” (the latter is correct) should be checked consistently; in the response, “initally” is misspelled. Aim for precise trend vocabulary and accurate collocations rather than using several dramatic terms where a neutral description would be clearer.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including a relative clause in “which rose again in 2017” and a contrast introduced by “However.” Most of the intended meaning remains understandable, but some grammatical errors affect accuracy. For example, “visitors who stayed on island were” is missing an article, and “grew slightly to 1.25 million and experienced plateau” needs a clearer subject and article. The construction “which saw a significant growth over till 2015 then experienced plateau” combines clauses awkwardly and has faulty tense and sentence structure. Long sentences in the final paragraph also make it difficult to control agreement and clause relationships. Use complete, clearly separated clauses and check articles, verb forms, and punctuation when describing each series.

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