The graph below shows the number of overseas visitors who came to the UK for different purposes between 1989 and 2009.

Overseas Visitors UK Different Purposes 1989-2009 Line Graph - IELTS Writing Task 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

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

Write at least 150 words.

A student's answer to this task, and the feedback on it

Written by an IELTSX user under exam conditions and published unedited and anonymously. Band 9 · 212 words.

The line graph illustrates how many millions of overseas visitors travelled to the UK for three different purposes, namely holiday, visiting friends or relatives, and business, over a 20-year period from 1989 to 2009.

Overall, the number of visitors for all purposes increased over the period shown. Throughout the period, holiday was consistently the most popular reason for visiting the UK, while the figure for business trips was generally the lowest.

In 1989, approximately 7 million people visited the UK for a holiday, compared to around 4 million who came to visit friends or relatives and just under 3 million for business purposes. Over the following 15 years, the number of holidaymakers rose steadily, reaching a peak of nearly 11 million in 2004, before declining slightly to roughly 9 million in 2009. In contrast, visits to friends or relatives saw a continuous increase throughout the whole period, from 4 million in 1989 to exactly 9 million in 2009, overtaking holiday visits in the final year.

The number of business visitors experienced the most gradual growth. Starting at approximately 3 million in 1989, this figure increased modestly to about 4 million in 1994, then climbed more noticeably to 6 million in 2004. However, it then fell back to around 5 million by 2009.

Examiner feedback

This is a model Band 9 response. It accurately captures every significant trend and data point while maintaining a sophisticated level of linguistic control. The logical grouping of data and the inclusion of the 2009 crossover point between holiday and VFR visits demonstrate a high level of data analysis.

Task Achievement - 9

- The response fully satisfies all requirements of the task, providing a comprehensive and accurate description of the data. - The overview is clear and highlights the main trends (overall increase) and comparative positions (holiday being most popular for most of the period). - All key features, including starting points, peaks, and the crucial intersection in 2009 where VFR overtook holiday visits, are skillfully highlighted.

Coherence & Cohesion - 9

- The message can be followed effortlessly with a very logical progression of ideas. - Paragraphing is used skillfully to separate the overview from detailed data and to group similar trends together. - Cohesive devices (e.g., 'In contrast', 'Over the following 15 years', 'Starting at...') are used naturally and vary significantly throughout the text.

Lexical Resource - 9

- The vocabulary is used with full flexibility and precision. Terms like 'holidaymakers', 'modestly', 'noticeably', and 'overtaking' are used appropriately. - There are no errors in spelling or word formation. - Collocations are natural and sophisticated (e.g., 'experienced the most gradual growth', 'climbed more noticeably').

Grammatical Range & Accuracy - 9

- A wide range of structures is used with full control and flexibility (e.g., participle phrases like 'reaching a peak...' and 'starting at...'). - The majority of sentences are error-free, and punctuation is used correctly to enhance readability. - Complex sentence forms are integrated seamlessly with simple ones.

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