Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-09

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The diagram below shows how one type of desert, known as a rain-shadow desert, is formed.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The formation of rain-shadow deserts

Student answer (Band 6.0)

The picture illustrates the steps of the process of formation of a rain shadow desert.

Overall, the process consist of seven stages and starts with the sea wind approaching the coast and concludes with the formation of rain shadow desert.

The process starts with the sea wind which approaches the coast of the mountains. The wind is pushed above the mountains where there is moist air. The moist air rises and cooled down in the windward side of a mountain. This results in the formation clouds which eventually lead to rain.The rainfall occurs in the top of the mountains.

After rainfall, the dry air continues to approach over the leeward side of the mountains.The wind travels down from there. These mountains are huge covering thousands of kilometers of area. This dry wind eventually reaches the inland area. This results in the formation of rain-shadow desert.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the process as a seven-stage sequence and give a clear overall start and end, then describe the main movement from the sea, over the mountains, and inland. Most stages match the diagram, including cloud formation, rainfall on the windward side, and dry air continuing beyond the mountains. However, some details are unclear or inaccurate: “The wind is pushed above the mountains where there is moist air” does not clearly explain that moist air rises and cools, and “mountains are huge covering thousands of kilometers of area” misreads the scale label, which refers to horizontal distance. The response is also five words below the required minimum. Develop the causal link between rainfall and the dry conditions on the leeward side more explicitly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall arrangement: an introduction and overview are followed by the stages before and after rainfall. Sequencing expressions such as “Overall,” “The process starts,” “This results in,” and “After rainfall” help the reader follow the process. The progression is generally logical, though some links are repetitive, particularly the repeated use of “This results in,” and the transition from the moist air rising to cloud formation could be clearer. Paragraphing is present but the final stages are compressed into one block. Use a wider range of precise links to show cause and sequence, and separate the stages more clearly so each part of the process is easy to track.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of process vocabulary, including “formation,” “approaches,” “moist air,” “windward side,” “leeward side,” and “inland area.” These terms are relevant and generally make the diagram understandable. Some choices are imprecise or awkward, however: “sea wind” is less accurate than describing winds approaching from the sea, and “covering thousands of kilometers of area” does not express the diagram’s horizontal scale correctly. “Rain shadow desert” is also written inconsistently with the hyphenated form used elsewhere. Aim for more precise collocations and avoid adding interpretations that the diagram does not show. Reusing the diagram’s labels accurately would make the description clearer and more natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including the overview clause “starts with … and concludes with …” and the relative clause “which approaches the coast.” The sequence remains understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “the process consist” needs subject–verb agreement, “the moist air rises and cooled down” shifts verb form, and “lead to rain” is missing an article before “formation” in “lead to the formation of clouds.” There are also punctuation problems, such as the missing space after “rain.” Review agreement and keep verb forms consistent when describing a process, which is normally presented in the present simple.

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