Tourist Information Office Enquiries in 2011

The graph below shows the number of enquiries received by the Tourist Information Office in one city over a six-month period in 2011.

IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 question image

Annotated response

8 correction notes

Showing 8 correction notes.

The graph demonstrates the received by the Tourist Information Office in one city over the first half of the year 2011. Overall, the received in person or by telephone each month increased over this period, whereas this figure decreased for enquiries received by letter or mail.

In January of 2011, it can be seen that enquiries in person were the fewest, at around 400 that month, compared to around 900 by telephone and 780 by letter or email. However, by June, while , to less than 400 by letter or mail.

increased every month, surpassing enquiries by letter or email for the first time in March, and enquiries by telephone for the first time in April. Meanwhile, the number of enquiries by letter or email was uniformly lower than that by telephone across the period, with the gap between the two widening from around 100 in January to more than 1200 in June.

Overall assessment

Why this response received Band 7.5

The response demonstrates strong task achievement, accurately selecting and comparing all key trends and data points with a clear overview of contrasting trajectories. The main limitation lies in grammatical control, where tense inconsistencies occasionally disrupt accuracy, and lexical choices such as 'quantity of questions' and 'rate of enquiries' are imprecise.

IELTS criteria

How each score was decided

Task Achievement

8.0

The response covers all key features with a clear overview of rising in-person and telephone enquiries versus falling letter/email enquiries, and the data cited is accurate against the chart, including crossover points in March and April and the widening telephone-letter gap.

Coherence and Cohesion

7.0

Ideas are logically organised with clear paragraphing and effective linking devices, though some referencing and tense shifts slightly reduce cohesion.

Lexical Resource

7.0

Vocabulary is generally flexible and appropriate for describing trends, with occasional less precise choices such as 'quantity of questions' and 'rate of enquiries'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

7.0

A range of structures is used with good control, but tense inconsistencies such as 'has risen' and 'has fallen' in a past-time context constitute noticeable errors that do not impede meaning.