Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-11

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 graph depicts the number of tourists who visited the Caribbean islands from 2010 to 2017. The numbers are illustrated in millions.

Overall, the total number of visitors increased with passing years followed by the number of visitors staying in the cruise ships. However, the number of visitors staying in islands kept fluctuating and dropped by 2017.

The number of visitors kept fluctuating in cruise ships. Initiating from 2010, the number of visitors staying in cruise ships was only one fourth of a million, then doubled next year but dropped to 0.25 million again in.However, the number increased again to 0.5 million in 2013 and kept increasing over years and had hit the maximum about 2 million by 2017.

Moreover, the number of visitors staying on islands was three fourth of a million in 2010, experienced a rapid increase and reached one and a half million by 2013. From 2013 to 2015, it remained constant, then it dropped half a million by 2016 and steeped back to 1.5 million in 2017.

Therefore, despite of various up and downs, the total number of visitors kept increasing except a minimum fall by 2016 followed by a rapid increase from 2.75 to 3.5 million by the end of 2017.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You identify the main overall pattern accurately: total visitors rose substantially, cruise-ship visitors increased strongly, and island-staying visitors were comparatively stable with a late dip and recovery. The figures you give for the cruise series and island series are generally consistent with the chart, and you support the overview with relevant details. The final comparison also correctly notes the total’s rise from about 2.75 million in 2016 to 3.5 million in 2017. To make the account more fully precise, avoid saying the total increased “except a minimum fall by 2016”: it remained level at about 2.75 million from 2015 to 2016. Also, the overview could compare the two visitor groups more explicitly, especially that cruise visitors overtook island visitors in 2017.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, separate discussion of the two visitor categories, and a concluding comment on totals. This gives the reader a sensible route through the information, and transitions such as “Overall,” “Moreover,” and “Therefore” help signal relationships. However, cohesion is not always smooth or precise. The overview’s “followed by” does not clearly explain how the total and cruise figures relate, while “Therefore” introduces a conclusion that largely repeats earlier information. The cruise paragraph also contains a broken transition and punctuation in “again in.However,” which interrupts the flow. For stronger progression, group related comparisons more tightly and use linking phrases to show contrast or stability rather than relying on repeated “number of visitors.”

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of task-related vocabulary, including “depicts,” “fluctuating,” “remained constant,” “rapid increase,” and “maximum.” These choices allow you to describe changes and stability, and the meaning is generally clear. There are, however, several inaccurate or unnatural collocations and word choices: “visitors staying in the cruise ships” is less natural than “visitors staying on cruise ships,” and “steeped back” does not express the intended return to a previous level. “Kept fluctuating” is also not quite accurate for the cruise series, which rises overall despite two early reversals. Aim for more precise trend language and natural collocations, while avoiding repeated use of “number of visitors.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex sentences, including clauses linked with “then,” “however,” and “despite,” and most of the trends remain understandable. Some grammatical errors and punctuation problems nevertheless reduce accuracy. For example, “dropped to 0.25 million again in.However” has a missing year and an incorrect sentence boundary; “despite of” should be “despite”; and “dropped half a million” needs a clearer construction such as “fell by a quarter of a million.” There are also issues with articles and number forms in “three fourth of a million” and “staying in islands.” To improve, check sentence boundaries and use consistent past-tense forms, while practising accurate prepositions and plural constructions.

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