Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-12

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 process diagram illustrates the information on the formation of type of desert called as a rain-shadow desert.

Overall, the rain-shadow deserts can be formed by undergoing the seven stage process. The procedure starts from the sea and ends at the Inland. From the sea, the winds begin to approach coasts. Slowly the formation take action by pushing the winds upwards to the mountains. Here the mountains are bridging the gap for the formation of the rain-shadow deserts between the sea and Inland. These are thousands of kilometers wide.

Firstly, the winds that comes from the sea starts moving towards coasts. Once they reach the coasts and hit the inclined surface of mountains, they starts moving in upwards direction. The sea facing side of mountains also known as windward side. As the winds goes up, the moisture in air increases and also the temperature rises.

As the moisture air rises, it starts converting into clouds. The formation of clouds resulting the rain falls over the top. As soon as the rain occur, the dry air continued to fall over mountains towards the leeward side. The leeward side is the inland facing side of mountains. As the dry winds reaches to the inland areas, it become the Rain-shadow desert.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You cover the main sequence from winds approaching the coast to dry winds reaching inland, and you identify the windward and leeward sides and the desert’s inland location. The overview also recognises a seven-stage process. However, some key details are unclear or inaccurate: you say moisture and temperature “rise,” whereas the diagram shows moist air rising and cooling before clouds form. The description that dry air “continued to fall” does not clearly convey that it continues over the mountain toward the leeward side. The statement that the mountains are “thousands of kilometers wide” also misreads the scale, which indicates the horizontal distance shown, not the width of the mountains. Clarifying these points and explaining the cooling-and-rain sequence more precisely would make the account more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an overview followed by a chronological account, and sequencing words such as “Firstly,” “As,” and “As soon as” help guide the reader through the process. The stages are generally presented in the correct order. However, the overview repeats details that are then explained again, and some links between stages are awkward or unclear, particularly “The formation of clouds resulting the rain falls” and the transition from rainfall to dry air moving inland. Paragraphing is sensible, but the progression would be smoother if each stage were linked directly to its cause and result, with less repetition and clearer references to the air and mountain sides.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “windward side,” “leeward side,” “moisture,” and “rain-shadow desert,” and the reader can generally follow the topic. There is also some attempt to vary wording with phrases such as “approach,” “pushing,” and “formation.” However, several choices are imprecise or unnatural for describing this diagram: “the formation take action,” “bridging the gap,” and “moisture in air increases” do not express the stages accurately. “Rain-shadow deserts” is also used where the singular process or resulting desert would be clearer. Aim for precise process verbs and natural collocations, such as air being forced upward, cooling, and producing precipitation. This would improve clarity while retaining your relevant technical terms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including time clauses such as “Once they reach the coasts” and “As the moisture air rises.” The overall meaning is usually recoverable, but some grammatical errors recur and occasionally make the process difficult to follow. Examples include subject–verb agreement in “the winds that comes” and “the winds goes,” the missing article in “formation of type of desert,” and inconsistent verb forms in “the dry air continued to fall.” Sentence construction is also faulty in “The formation of clouds resulting the rain falls.” Work on agreement, articles, and consistent present-tense forms for a process description, and check that each sentence has a complete, correctly linked clause.

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