Task 1 Academic · Table · Travel
Island visitors by origin and what they spend
A table where the biggest market is also the cheapest and the only one shrinking — and where the answers differ in whether they set numbers against spending at all.
The question
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.
The table below shows the number of visitors to an island from five regions of origin in 2015 and 2025, and the average amount spent per visit by visitors from each region in 2025.
| Region of origin | Visitors 2015 (thousands) | Visitors 2025 (thousands) | Average spend per visit 2025 (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neighbouring mainland | 420 | 380 | 310 |
| Rest of the continent | 180 | 240 | 620 |
| North America | 60 | 75 | 1,480 |
| East Asia | 25 | 110 | 1,150 |
| Other regions | 35 | 45 | 890 |
A 150-word factual summary of a graph, chart, table, process or map. This prompt is original, written in the standard format for teaching purposes — it is not taken from any past paper.
What separates the three answers
The two columns pull in opposite directions — the largest markets spend the least — and only the band 9 answer multiplies them to show that 110,000 East Asian visitors already outspend 380,000 from the mainland.
The three answers
Band 6.5
181 words (the task asks for at least 150)The answer works. It addresses the task, the reader follows it, and the meaning survives — but ideas stay general, linking is mechanical, wording repeats, and small errors are visible throughout.
The answer
The table shows the number of visitors who came to an island from five different regions in 2015 and 2025 and also how much money they spend in 20255.
In 2015, the biggest number of visitors was from the neighbouring mainland with 420 thousand. The rest of the continent had 180 thousand, North America had 60 thousand, other regions had 35 thousand and East Asia had only 25 thousand.
In 2025, the mainland visitors decreased to 380 thousand but it was still the highest4. The rest of the continent increased to 240 thousand, North America increased to 75 thousand and other regions increased to 45 thousand. East Asia increased very much to 110 thousand3, so it was more than North America.
About the money, the visitors from North America spent the most with £1,480 and East Asia spent £1,150.1 The other regions spent £890, the rest of continent spent £620 and the mainland visitors spent only £310, which was the lowest.
Overall, the number of visitors increased in most of the regions and the visitors from far away spent more money.2
What an examiner notices
1. Task achievement
“About the money, the visitors from North America spent the most with £1,480 and East Asia spent £1,150.”
The spending column is read top to bottom as a separate list. Nothing connects it to the visitor numbers, which is where the table's real story lies.
2. Task achievement
“Overall, the number of visitors increased in most of the regions and the visitors from far away spent more money.”
Accurate but thin, and in the wrong place. It omits the one market that fell and never says that the largest source of visitors spends the least.
3. Lexical resource
“East Asia increased very much to 110 thousand”
A more than fourfold rise described with 'very much'. 'More than quadrupled' would measure it; the region itself did not increase, its number of visitors did.
4. Grammatical range and accuracy
“the mainland visitors decreased to 380 thousand but it was still the highest”
A plural subject picked up by a singular 'it', and visitors described as decreasing when it is their number that fell.
5. Grammatical range and accuracy
“how much money they spend in 2025”
A past year needs a past tense. The slip is small, but it is the first sentence the examiner reads.
One honest caveat
Band labels here describe what each piece of writing demonstrates against the four published assessment areas, paraphrased in plain language. They are teaching illustrations produced for this site, not official material, and no sample has been marked by a test provider. Real scripts are marked whole; two answers with the same label can still look quite different from each other, and nothing on this page can promise anyone a particular result.
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