Cambridge 15 Writing Task 1 Test 2 - Sample Answers (Band 9 to 4-5)

Real band 9, 8, 7 and 6.5 sample answers for this prompt, plus a genuine band 4-5 answer so you can see exactly what pulls a score down. Every sample comes with examiner-style notes on Task Achievement, Coherence & Cohesion, Lexical Resource and Grammatical Range & Accuracy.

The Prompt

Tourists Visiting a Caribbean Island (2010-2017)

The graph below shows the number of tourists visiting a particular Caribbean island between 2010 and 2017.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

The Data

Tourist numbers, millions (2010-2017)

Cruise ship visitors: 1.0 (2010) → 1.5 (2013) → 2.8 (2017)

Island-staying visitors: 1.0 (2010) → 1.6 (2013, peak) → 1.0 (2017)

Total visitors: 2.0 (2010) → 3.1 (2013) → 3.8 (2017)

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Band 9

198 words

Notices that island-staying visitors returned to exactly their 2010 level, a genuinely precise observation rather than a vague description of decline.

The three graphs compare the number of tourists visiting a Caribbean island by cruise ship, staying on the island, and in total, between 2010 and 2017.

Overall, total visitor numbers rose consistently throughout the period, but this growth was driven entirely by a steady rise in cruise ship passengers, since the number of tourists staying on the island actually peaked in 2013 before declining back to its original level by 2017.

Cruise ship visitors nearly tripled over the period, rising steadily from 1.0 million in 2010 to 2.8 million in 2017, overtaking island-staying visitors for the first time around 2014. Island-staying visitors, by contrast, followed a very different pattern, rising from 1.0 million in 2010 to a peak of 1.6 million in 2013, before falling back through the following years to reach exactly 1.0 million again in 2017, identical to where it started.

Despite this decline in island-staying tourists, total visitor numbers still grew throughout the period, from 2.0 million in 2010 to 3.8 million in 2017, entirely because the growth in cruise passengers was more than enough to offset the fall in island-staying visitors, indicating a clear shift in how tourists were choosing to experience the island.

Examiner Notes

Task Achievement: Covers all three graphs with a precise overview identifying the genuinely notable feature: island-staying visitors returning to their exact starting level while cruise growth alone drove the total upward.

Coherence & Cohesion: A clear overview precedes chronologically organised detail, with cohesive devices ("by contrast", "despite this") linking the trends naturally.

Lexical Resource: Precise, varied language ("overtaking", "offset", "identical to where it started") used accurately throughout.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Wide range of accurate structures, including comparatives and non-finite clauses, used with full control.

Band 8

172 words

Accurate and clearly organised, just slightly less analytically framed than a band 9 answer.

The three graphs show the number of tourists visiting a Caribbean island by cruise ship, staying on the island, and in total, from 2010 to 2017.

Overall, the total number of visitors increased every year, but this was mainly because of a steady rise in cruise ship passengers, since the number of people staying on the island actually went down after reaching its highest point in 2013.

Cruise ship visitors grew steadily throughout the period, almost tripling from 1.0 million in 2010 to 2.8 million in 2017, and became more numerous than island-staying visitors from around 2014 onwards. Island-staying visitors, however, rose from 1.0 million in 2010 to a peak of 1.6 million in 2013, before falling back down to 1.0 million by 2017, the same level as at the start.

Even though island-staying visitors decreased overall, total visitor numbers still increased every year, from 2.0 million in 2010 to 3.8 million in 2017, because the increase in cruise passengers was large enough to make up for the decline in island-staying visitors.

Examiner Notes

Task Achievement: Covers all three graphs accurately with a clear overview, including the return to starting level, though it is described a little more simply than in the band 9 answer.

Coherence & Cohesion: Clearly organised with an overview followed by chronologically ordered detail; cohesive devices are accurate throughout.

Lexical Resource: Good range of vocabulary for describing trends, though "the same level as at the start" is slightly plainer than the higher-band answer's more precise phrasing.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Accurate throughout, with a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures.

Band 7

159 words

All figures are correct, but the overview does not flag the precise return to the starting level.

The graphs give information about the number of tourists visiting a Caribbean island by cruise ship, staying on the island, and in total, between 2010 and 2017.

Overall, the total number of visitors went up every year, mainly because more and more people were visiting by cruise ship, even though the number of people staying on the island went down after 2013.

The number of cruise ship visitors kept increasing throughout the period, going from 1.0 million in 2010 to 2.8 million in 2017. The number of people staying on the island went up first, reaching 1.6 million in 2013, but then it went down again, ending at 1.0 million in 2017, the same as where it started.

Even though fewer people were staying on the island by the end, the total number of visitors still went up every year, from 2.0 million in 2010 to 3.8 million in 2017, because there were so many more cruise ship visitors.

Examiner Notes

Task Achievement: Reports all three graphs' figures accurately with a basic overview, but the overview does not explicitly flag that island-staying visitors ended at exactly the same level as they started.

Coherence & Cohesion: Clearly organised chronologically, though "went up" and "went down" are repeated throughout.

Lexical Resource: Adequate range for the task; figures are accurate but connecting language stays fairly plain throughout.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Generally accurate, mostly simple sentence structures; meaning is always clear.

Band 6.5

153 words

The figures are all correct, but agreement errors appear in almost every sentence.

The graph give information about number of tourist visiting Caribbean island by cruise ship, staying on island, and in total, between 2010 and 2017.

Overall, the total number of visitor go up every year, mainly because more and more people was visiting by cruise ship, even though the number of people staying on island go down after 2013.

The number of cruise ship visitor keep increasing throughout the period, going from 1.0 million in 2010 to 2.8 million in 2017. The number of people staying on island go up first, reaching 1.6 million in 2013, but then it go down again, ending at 1.0 million in 2017, the same as where it started.

Even though less people was staying on island by the end, the total number of visitor still go up every year, from 2.0 million in 2010 to 3.8 million in 2017, because there was so many more cruise ship visitor.

Examiner Notes

Task Achievement: Reports all three graphs' figures accurately, matching the content of the band 7 answer.

Coherence & Cohesion: Clearly organised chronologically, following the same structure as the higher-band answers.

Lexical Resource: Limited by "tourist" and "visitor" being used without their plural forms throughout.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Frequent subject-verb agreement errors ("graph give", "the total number of visitor go up", "people was visiting") appear in nearly every sentence.

Band 4-5 - What to Avoid

44 words

One whole graph (total visitors) is never reported with figures, and it closes with a personal opinion rather than data.

This graph show tourist number for island from 2010 to 2017.

Cruise ship number go up. Island number go up then down.

I think cruise ship is more popular now because it is easy way to travel, this is my opinion about this topic.

Examiner Notes

Task Achievement: No exact figures for the total visitors line are given anywhere, the fact that island-staying visitors ended exactly where they started is missed, and the closing comment is a personal opinion that has no place in a Task 1 report. At well under 150 words, the response is also underlength.

Coherence & Cohesion: Reads as three short, disconnected remarks rather than an organised comparison across the three graphs.

Lexical Resource: Vague, repetitive vocabulary ("go up", "go up then down") used instead of the specific figures given in the graph.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Frequent errors throughout ("graph show", "Cruise ship number go up").

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These sample answers are written independently for Prep IELTS Now to illustrate real band-score differences. They are a study aid, not official Cambridge or IELTS material.