The pie charts below show the most common advantages and disadvantages of Bowen Island, according to a survey of visitors.
Sample Response
The two pie charts show the aspects of Bowen Island that tourists enjoy the most and the least. Bowen Island has many features that attract tourists but the most popular of these are the scenery and the people, with more than two thirds of the visitors to the island listing these as the greatest advantages. The standard of accommodation on the island appears to be more than adequate, with 11% of respondents listing this as an advantage. 12% of visitors cite the culture of the island as a major attraction. However, the island seems far from being a perfect tourist destination. When it comes to the negative aspects of the island, the high cost of living, poor weather and the quality or lack of entertainment are seen as the worst of these. Together, these three categories make up 90% of the total disadvantages. In spite of the high costs on the island, 10% of the visitors complain of poor food quality. Overall, it seems that most people like Bowen Island because of the scenery and people. However, it is possible that the unspoilt nature of the island means there is little in the way of entertainment and this, combined with the high cost of living, makes it unlikely to appeal to everyone.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Match the chart categories Original: tourists enjoy the most and the least Suggested revision: visitors regard as the main advantages and disadvantages Why it matters: The charts report perceived advantages and disadvantages, not simply degrees of enjoyment.
- 2. Report the exact share Original: more than two thirds of the visitors to the island listing these as the greatest advantages Suggested revision: the two categories together accounting for 77% of the reported advantages Why it matters: The revision gives the precise combined proportion without implying an overall rating of the island.
- 3. Remove unsupported judgement Original: appears to be more than adequate Suggested revision: was cited as an advantage Why it matters: An 11% share does not establish that accommodation overall is more than adequate.
- 4. Use the chart label Original: major attraction Suggested revision: advantage Why it matters: The chart identifies culture as an advantage without rating it as a major attraction.
- 5. Avoid unsupported interpretation Original: quality or lack of entertainment Suggested revision: entertainment Why it matters: The chart labels this category only as entertainment and does not specify quality or absence.
- 6. Use a logical link Original: In spite of the high costs on the island, Suggested revision: In addition, Why it matters: Poor food quality adds another disadvantage rather than contrasting with high living costs.
- 7. Use a comparative verb Original: show Suggested revision: compare Why it matters: The verb compare more directly expresses the relationship between the two charts.
- 8. Add a clause comma Original: tourists but Suggested revision: tourists, but Why it matters: A comma should separate the two independent clauses joined by but.
- 9. Use survey language Original: the most popular of these Suggested revision: the most commonly reported of these Why it matters: This wording ties the comparison to what respondents reported in the survey.
- 10. Order by proportion Original: the scenery and the people Suggested revision: the people and the scenery Why it matters: Listing people first reflects its larger share, 42% compared with 35% for scenery.
- 11. Clarify the reference Original: listing this as an advantage Suggested revision: listing good accommodation as an advantage Why it matters: Naming the category removes the vague pronoun reference.
- 12. Keep reporting tense consistent Original: 12% of visitors cite the culture of the island Suggested revision: Culture was cited by 12% of visitors Why it matters: The past passive form is consistent with reporting the completed survey results.
Suggested Rewrites
- tourists enjoy the most and the least visitors regard as the main advantages and disadvantages
- more than two thirds of the visitors to the island listing these as the greatest advantages the two categories together accounting for 77% of the reported advantages
- appears to be more than adequate was cited as an advantage
- major attraction advantage
- quality or lack of entertainment entertainment
- In spite of the high costs on the island, In addition,
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response covers every segment of both charts and communicates the dominant advantages and disadvantages with accurate proportions and confident language. Its main weakness is unsupported interpretation, particularly the claim that the island's unspoilt nature causes limited entertainment, while a few linking choices are logically imprecise. Prioritise an objective overview that identifies the largest shares and avoids causal explanations not shown by the survey.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All chart segments are covered accurately and the dominant advantages and disadvantages are clearly identified, though some interpretation exceeds the visual evidence.
Remove speculative causal claims and state directly that people and scenery lead the advantages while cost dominates the disadvantages.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas move logically from advantages to disadvantages and the closing overview, although the single-paragraph format weakens the visible structure.
Divide the report into an overview and grouped detail paragraphs, and use contrast links only where the relationship is genuinely contrastive.
Lexical Resource
The response uses a broad, confident range for describing survey results, attractions, and negative features, with generally precise wording.
Replace awkward wording such as quality or lack of entertainment with the exact chart category and use neutral reporting language throughout.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide variety of sentence forms is used with strong control, including complex clauses that remain clear and accurate.
Refine punctuation around longer coordinated clauses to make the already controlled syntax even easier to process.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The pie charts below show the most common advantages and disadvantages of Bowen Island, according to a survey of visitors.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.