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 regard as the main advantages and disadvantagesenjoy the most and the least.
Bowen Island has many features that attract tourists but the most popular of these are the people and the scenerythe scenery and the people, with just over three quartersmore 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 an advantagea 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 limited entertainmentthe quality or lack of entertainment are seen as the worst of these. Together, these three categories make up 90% of the total disadvantages. FinallyIn 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.
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response presents almost every category accurately and groups the positive and negative findings into a clear, fluent comparison, with particularly effective selection of the dominant features. The main limitation is the speculative final explanation linking unspoilt scenery to limited entertainment, which is not shown by the charts. Keep the overview strictly descriptive and add direct numerical contrasts between the largest and smallest segments.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The main features and proportions are accurately selected and compared, but the concluding causal interpretation is unsupported by the charts.
Replace speculation about the island's unspoilt nature with a factual overview contrasting the dominant and smallest survey responses.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information is logically grouped into advantages and disadvantages, with clear progression and well-managed cohesive links throughout.
Refine the final paragraph so it synthesises the chart patterns directly without shifting into explanation or evaluation.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and mostly precise, with natural control of terms for survey findings, attractions, and disadvantages.
Use more exact wording for entertainment, avoiding the awkward phrase 'the quality or lack of entertainment'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex structures is used accurately, and the response contains only minor lapses that do not impede reading.
Maintain this strong control while tightening the longest sentences to make comparisons even more direct.
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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.