The first chart below shows the results of a survey which sampled a cross-section of 100,000 people asking if they traveled abroad and why they traveled for the period 1994-98. The second chart shows their destinations over the same period. You should write not less than 150 words. VISITS ABROAD BY UK RESIDENTS BY PURPOSE OF VISIT (1994-98) Holiday 15,246 14,898 17,896 19,703 20,700 Business 3,155 3,188 3,249 3,639 3,957 Visits to friends & relatives 2,689 2,628 2,774 3,051 3,181 Other reasons 1,030 1,054 TOTAL 22,072 21,610 24,949 27,447 28,828 Destinations of visits abroad by UK residents by main region (1994-98)
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Sample Response
The charts present data about the main reasons for travelling by UK residents as well as their favourite destinations from 1994 to 1998.
Overall, the main reasons for Britons to travel during this period were holiday making, business and visits to friends and relatives. Western Europe was their favourite destination.
As the data suggests, the number of holidaymakers steadily increased. In 1994, the number of holiday seekers was around fifteen thousand, and it grew to over twenty thousand in 1998. Moreover, the number of people travelling for business also gradually increased - just over three thousand in 1994 and approximately four thousand four years later. Finally, visiting abroad for meeting friends and relatives showed a steady increase till 1997, when more than one thousand British visited abroad for that reason. All the reasons combined, more than twenty thousand British travelled abroad in 1994 and this number grew by almost nine thousand in just four years.
In addition, Western Europe was the favourite destination of those travellers as nearly eighteen thousand travelled to this destination in 1994 while the rest, nearly four thousand, went to other places. North America seemed the second most common destination for those travellers during this period.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Clarify the agent Original: reasons for travelling by UK residents Suggested revision: reasons UK residents travelled Why it matters: This wording makes the residents the clear subject of the action.
- 2. Use natural phrasing Original: reasons for Britons to travel Suggested revision: reasons Britons travelled Why it matters: The finite clause is more natural when describing recorded purposes.
- 3. Use chart category Original: holiday making Suggested revision: holidays Why it matters: This matches the chart's category and is more idiomatic.
- 4. Use precise noun Original: holiday seekers Suggested revision: holidaymakers Why it matters: Holidaymakers is the standard noun for people travelling for holidays.
- 5. Link supporting figures Original: increased - just over Suggested revision: increased: from just over Why it matters: A colon and from clearly introduce the starting and ending values.
- 6. Correct second destination Original: North America Suggested revision: Other Areas Why it matters: The chart shows Other Areas, not North America, as the second most common destination throughout.
- 7. Sentence rewrite Original: As the data suggests, the number of holidaymakers steadily increased. Suggested revision: The number of holidaymakers dipped slightly in 1995 before rising steadily through 1998. Why it matters: The holiday figure falls from 1994 to 1995, so the increase was not steady across the whole period.
- 8. Sentence rewrite Original: Finally, visiting abroad for meeting friends and relatives showed a steady increase till 1997, when more than one thousand British visited abroad for that reason. Suggested revision: Visits to friends and relatives dipped slightly in 1995, then rose to 3,181 in 1998. Why it matters: The rewrite corrects the trend, endpoint, year, and substantially understated figure.
- 9. Sentence rewrite Original: All the reasons combined, more than twenty thousand British travelled abroad in 1994 and this number grew by almost nine thousand in just four years. Suggested revision: For all purposes combined, 22,072 UK residents travelled abroad in 1994, rising by 6,756 to 28,828 in 1998. Why it matters: The table's total increased by 6,756 rather than almost nine thousand.
- 10. Describe destination trends Suggested revision: Extend this paragraph beyond 1994 by comparing how visits to Western Europe, North America, and Other Areas changed through 1998, including representative endpoint figures. Why it matters: The destination chart covers five years, but the paragraph reports numerical detail for only the first year.
Suggested Rewrites
- reasons for travelling by UK residents reasons UK residents travelled
- reasons for Britons to travel reasons Britons travelled
- holiday making holidays
- holiday seekers holidaymakers
- increased - just over increased: from just over
- North America Other Areas
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response is well organised and clearly identifies holidays and Western Europe as the dominant purpose and destination. However, several important details are inaccurate or oversimplified: the trends were not entirely steady, the 1997 friends-and-relatives figure was just over 3,000, and Other Areas—not North America—was the second-largest destination. Prioritise checking rankings and figures across both charts before summarising trends.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
Both charts are addressed and dominant categories are identified, but key figures, trends, and the destination ranking contain substantial inaccuracies.
Report the 1995 dips, the correct friends-and-relatives figure, and the destination order before adding broader trend claims.
Coherence and Cohesion
The introduction, overview, purpose details, and destination details form a clear and logical sequence.
Make the comparison between the two datasets more explicit while retaining the effective paragraph structure.
Lexical Resource
A good range of travel and trend vocabulary is used, though some expressions are awkward or insufficiently precise.
Replace phrases such as “visiting abroad for meeting” with concise forms such as “visiting friends and relatives abroad.”
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Varied simple and complex structures are generally accurate, and the few grammatical slips do not impede communication.
Refine article use and noun phrases while maintaining the clear control of tense and complex sentences.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The first chart below shows the results of a survey which sampled a cross-section of 100,000 people asking if they traveled abroad and why they traveled for the period 1994-98. The second chart shows their destinations over the same period. You should write not less than 150 words. VISITS ABROAD BY UK RESIDENTS BY PURPOSE OF VISIT (1994-98) Holiday 15,246 14,898 17,896 19,703 20,700 Business 3,155 3,188 3,249 3,639 3,957 Visits to friends & relatives 2,689 2,628 2,774 3,051 3,181 Other reasons 1,030 1,054 TOTAL 22,072 21,610 24,949 27,447 28,828 Destinations of visits abroad by UK residents by main region (1994-98)
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