Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-14

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 given line graph illustrates the information which is about the amount of tourists visiting a single Caribbean island from 2010 to 2017, over a period of 7 years, measuring the units in millions.

Overall, it can be seen that, though visitors staying on cruise ships were higher during the beginning compared to visitors staying on island but in the end the later trend excelled the other one by experiencing a significant increase. However, the total number of visitors, regardless of the way, always had been growing during the timeline.

In the first two years, number of visitors staying on cruise ship rose to around 1.25 million after being stable for a year while the count of tourists staying on island fluctuated. Nevertheless, from 2012, the acceleration of the people staying on island is significant and it eventually reached to 2 millions in the end, 2017, whereas it was in 0.25 millions. Meanwhile, the amount of cruise ship staycations either increased or remained stable throughout the years except in 2016 where it decreased for the first time and dropped by approximately 0.2 millions and then ended up in 1.5 millions again after the exact amount of increment. Furthermore, the total number of tourists gradually rised and experienced total 3.5 millions of number in 2017 eventhough it started from 1 million.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You provide an overview and identify the broad rise in total visitors, which is an important feature. However, several key details are misreported, limiting the accuracy of the summary. Cruise-ship visitors did not start higher than island visitors: the figures were about 0.25 million and 0.75 million respectively in 2010. By 2017, cruise-ship visitors reached about 2 million, while island visitors were around 1.5 million—not the reverse, as your account suggests. The cruise-ship figure also did not fall in 2016; it continued rising. Your overview recognises the eventual change in which group was larger, but the inaccurate comparisons and figures make the account only partly effective. Check each series against the graph before describing its trend.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs of supporting detail. The overview also gives the reader a useful sense of the main trends, and linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Meanwhile,” and “Furthermore” help signal relationships between points. This coherent structure meets the lower-band expectations and shows some stronger progression. However, the detailed paragraph becomes difficult to follow because it shifts between the two visitor groups and includes inaccurate comparisons. Phrases such as “In the first two years” and “from 2012” do not always make clear which series is being discussed. Grouping the figures by series, and using clear references such as “cruise-ship visitors” and “those staying on the island,” would make the progression more controlled.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a reasonable range of vocabulary for describing a graph, including “illustrates,” “fluctuated,” “significant increase,” and “gradually.” These choices show an attempt to vary your language rather than repeat “number” throughout, and the meaning is generally understandable. Some less natural word choices and collocations reduce precision, however. For example, “the later trend excelled the other one” is not an idiomatic way to say that one category overtook another, while “cruise ship staycations” is an unsuitable label for the data. “The acceleration of the people” is also unclear. Aim for precise graph language such as “the figure for,” “overtook,” and “rose steadily.” Check spelling and word forms, including “rose” rather than “rised” and “even though” as two words.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of sentence forms, including a complex overview beginning “though visitors…” and sentences using “while” and “whereas.” This gives the response some structural variety, and the main message can usually be understood. However, several grammatical errors remain, and some complex sentences are not well controlled. For example, “though visitors … were higher … but” uses two contrasting conjunctions together; “the amount of tourists” has an unsuitable count-noun construction; and “it eventually reached to 2 millions” has problems with the verb pattern and plural form. There are also errors in tense and agreement, such as “always had been growing” and “the total number … rised.” Use past simple consistently for the historical data and check articles, plurals, and sentence boundaries.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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