Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 diagram illustrates the rain-shadow deserts formation process.

Overall, the process involve seven stages with wind approaching the coast, converting into clouds due to mountain profile and temperature, rain falls at the top, and dry wind reaching the inland areas and forming rain-shadow thousands of kilometers away from the coast.

The process starts when wind carring moist approches the coast. The wind is pushed upward due to the trajectory of the mountains near the coast. As soon as wind reaches windward, the moisture become cool down and as a result clouds are formed. These clouds then start raining at the top of the mountains.

After rain, the air losses its moisture and become dry. This dry air continues to travel over leeward side of the mountain. Finally, dry air reaches the inland areas where rain shadow desert is formed on the opposite side of the mountain rain which is far away from sea.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You cover the main sequence and give an overview: moist coastal air rises over the mountains, rain falls on the windward side, and dry air reaches inland to form a desert. These points match the diagram, and the overview helps identify the process’s outcome. The account is not fully precise in places, however. The diagram shows clouds forming and rain falling above the windward slope and peak, rather than simply “at the top,” and it does not say that the wind is “converting into clouds.” The final reference to the desert being “thousands of kilometers away” reflects the scale label, but could be expressed more clearly as the distance across which the dry winds travel. More exact reporting of these stages would strengthen an otherwise relevant summary.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall progression, moving from the coast and windward slope to the leeward side and inland desert. The paragraph break also separates the overview from the detailed sequence, and markers such as “Overall,” “The process starts,” “After rain,” and “Finally” make the order easy to follow. Some connections are less clear or slightly mechanical: “As soon as wind reaches windward” does not specify the windward side, while “opposite side of the mountain rain” makes the final relationship difficult to interpret. The overview also compresses several stages into one sentence. To move further, use more precise referencing and connect each stage smoothly without making the sequence sound like a list.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “windward,” “leeward,” “moisture,” “inland areas,” and “rain-shadow desert,” which gives the description an appropriate subject-specific range. There are also attempts at more descriptive wording, such as “trajectory of the mountains,” but this is not a natural collocation for the mountain’s effect on wind. Several spelling and word-choice errors reduce precision: “carring,” “approches,” and “losses” should be corrected, and “wind carrying moisture” is clearer than “wind carrying moist.” “Rain-shadow deserts formation” is also awkwardly formed. The meaning remains generally understandable, but more accurate spelling and natural collocations would make the vocabulary more controlled and precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including the result clause “as a result clouds are formed” and the time link “After rain.” The sequence is generally understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “the process involve seven stages” needs subject–verb agreement, and “the moisture become cool down” combines incompatible verb forms. In “After rain, the air losses its moisture and become dry,” the verbs do not agree with the singular subject. Articles and prepositions are also sometimes missing or unclear, as in “reaches windward” and “over leeward side.” These errors do not usually prevent the reader from following the process, but they limit accuracy. Check agreement, verb patterns, and articles when revising each sentence.

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