Cambridge IELTS 15 Test 2 Writing Task 1: Caribbean Tourists
Cambridge IELTS 15 · Test 2 · Academic Writing Task 1Line graph
The line graph shows the number of tourists who visited a Caribbean island each year from 2010 to 2017, in millions. It separates visitors staying on cruise ships from visitors staying on the island and also gives the total.
The question
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. 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. Write at least 150 words.
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Key features to report
- The total number of visitors rose from 1 million in 2010 to 3.5 million in 2017, with a steady climb to 2.5 million in 2014, a flat period at about 2.75 million in 2015 and 2016, and a sharp jump in the final year.
- Visitors staying on the island outnumbered cruise ship visitors from 2010 to 2015: they rose from about 0.75 million in 2010 and 2011 to 1.5 million in 2013, then stayed at that level until 2015.
- Island-based visitors dipped to about 1.25 million in 2016 before returning to 1.5 million in 2017, so their overall growth was modest after 2013.
- Cruise ship visitors started lowest at about 0.25 million in 2010, fluctuated between 0.25 and 0.5 million until 2013, then rose without interruption to 1 million in 2014, 1.5 million in 2016 and 2 million in 2017.
- The two lines cross between 2015 and 2016: by 2016 cruise ship visitors (1.5 million) had overtaken island-based visitors (about 1.25 million), and in 2017 they made up the larger part of the total.
- The units are millions of visitors, so figures such as 0.25 should be written as a quarter of a million or 250,000, not 0.25 visitors or 25%.
Model overview
Overall, the total number of tourists visiting the island rose considerably between 2010 and 2017. Although visitors staying on the island were the larger group for most of the period, the number staying on cruise ships grew far more rapidly and had overtaken them by the end.
Paragraph plan
- 1
Introduction
Paraphrase the task: the line graph shows how many tourists visited a Caribbean island between 2010 and 2017, divided into those staying on cruise ships and those staying on the island, together with the total.
- 2
Overview
Give the main trends without figures: total visitor numbers rose strongly, island-based visitors were the larger group for most of the period, and cruise ship visitors grew much faster and overtook them near the end.
- 3
Body paragraph 1: the total
Describe the total line: 1 million in 2010, a steady rise to 2.5 million in 2014, 2.75 million in 2015, no change in 2016 and a jump to 3.5 million in 2017. Mention the 2010 split of about 0.75 million on the island and 0.25 million on ships.
- 4
Body paragraph 2: the two types of visitor
Compare the two groups: island visitors doubled to 1.5 million by 2013, levelled off, dipped to 1.25 million in 2016 and recovered to 1.5 million; cruise ship visitors fluctuated until 2013, then rose continuously, overtook island visitors in 2016 and reached 2 million in 2017.
Useful comparisons
- Compare the start and end of each line: the total grew 3.5 times, cruise ship visitors grew about eightfold, and island visitors only doubled.
- Contrast the phases of growth: island visitors grew mainly from 2011 to 2013, whereas cruise ship visitors grew mainly from 2013 to 2017.
- Highlight the crossing point between 2015 and 2016, when cruise ship visitors overtook island-based visitors.
- Explain the flat total in 2015-2016: the rise in cruise ship visitors was cancelled out by the fall in island visitors.
- Point out that the largest single-year increase in the total came at the end, from about 2.75 million to 3.5 million in 2017, driven mainly by cruise ship visitors.
- Note the only falls on the graph: cruise ship visitors in 2012 and island visitors in 2016.
Band 8+ model answer
198 words · An original model answer written for ieltswrites, not an official answer. It stays in English, as in the exam.
The line graph shows how many tourists visited a Caribbean island each year between 2010 and 2017, distinguishing between those who stayed on cruise ships and those who stayed on the island itself, as well as giving the total.
Overall, the total number of visitors rose substantially over the period. Although island-based tourists outnumbered cruise ship visitors for most of these years, the number staying on cruise ships grew far more rapidly and had overtaken them by the end.
In 2010, the island received 1 million visitors in total, of whom about 0.75 million stayed on the island and only a quarter of a million on cruise ships. The total climbed steadily to 2.5 million in 2014 and reached 2.75 million in 2015, remaining at this level in 2016 before surging to 3.5 million in 2017.
The number of tourists staying on the island doubled to 1.5 million by 2013 and then levelled off, apart from a slight dip to 1.25 million in 2016. Cruise ship visitors, by contrast, fluctuated between 0.25 and 0.5 million until 2013, but then rose every year, overtaking island-based tourists in 2016 and reaching 2 million in 2017, eight times their 2010 figure.
Why this answer scores highly
- Task Achievement
- The answer presents a clear overview of rising totals and the faster growth of cruise ship tourism, and supports it with accurate figures for the start, end, plateau and crossing point.
- Coherence and Cohesion
- The total is covered in one paragraph and the two visitor types are compared in the next, with linking such as by contrast, before and apart from making the sequence of changes easy to follow.
- Lexical Resource
- Precise trend vocabulary such as levelled off, fluctuated, overtaking and eight times avoids repetition, and the labels are paraphrased as island-based tourists and cruise ship visitors.
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy
- The answer combines past simple and past perfect forms, participle clauses and relative clauses such as of whom about 0.75 million stayed, all used accurately.
Useful vocabulary
- visitor numbers
- how many people visited, a useful paraphrase of the number of tourists
- island-based visitors
- tourists who stayed in accommodation on the island
- cruise passengers
- tourists who slept on cruise ships rather than on the island
- a quarter of a million
- 250,000, a natural way to express 0.25 million
- fluctuate
- go up and down irregularly
- level off
- stop rising and stay at about the same level
- plateau
- a period when a figure stays the same after rising
- overtake
- rise above another figure
- an eightfold increase
- a rise to eight times the original figure
- surge
- a sudden large increase
- rise continuously
- go up every year without any fall
- account for
- make up a part of a total
- dip slightly
- fall a little for a short time
Common mistakes
- Treating the total as a third type of tourist instead of the sum of the other two lines.
- Writing figures without units or as percentages, for example 0.5% or 0.5 tourists, instead of 0.5 million or half a million visitors.
- Describing every year for every line, which produces a list of 24 figures and hides the key change, the crossing of the two lines.
- Missing the flat total between 2015 and 2016 or the dip in island-based visitors in 2016.
- Saying that cruise ship visitors were always the smaller group, when they overtook island-based visitors in 2016 and 2017.
- Giving reasons for the trends, such as cheaper cruises or hotel shortages, which are not shown on the graph.
Frequently asked questions
- Which Cambridge book is this question from?
- This line graph about tourists visiting a Caribbean island from 2010 to 2017 is Writing Task 1 of Test 2 in Cambridge IELTS 15 Academic, published in 2020.
- Do I need to describe the total line separately?
- Yes, briefly. The total shows the overall growth and the plateau in 2015-2016, but remember it is the sum of the other two lines, so do not present it as a separate group of tourists.
- How do I write figures like 0.25 million?
- Write 0.25 million, a quarter of a million or 250,000 visitors. Always include the unit, because the graph measures millions of visitors.
- How many words should I write for this Task 1?
- Write at least 150 words; about 170-200 words lets you cover the overview and the key changes in around 20 minutes.
Free and timed, with a live word count, just like the computer-delivered test. Then get an instant AI band score.
The exam simulator runs on a computer. Open this page on a laptop or desktop to practise.