Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-30

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 digram illustrates the rain shadow desert formation. The process occurs on two opposite sidenone is windward side and the other is Leeward side separated by large montaineous terrain,. It involves seven sequential stages, beginning with the wind approaching toward the coast on the windward side and culminates with the dry winds approaching towards inland area, ending up in rain shadow desert formation.

Overall, it is evident that wind approaches toward the coastal region of the windward side, where wind is forced upwards ended up in clouds formation. When these moisture-laden clouds reach at the top, they loose their moisture in the form of rainfall and ended up in dry air reaching towards inland area, where it forms the rain shadow desert.

To begin with, on the windward side, the coastal regin are collided with the strong winds and due to excesssive force, moist wind is forced upwards.Due to drop in temperature, moisture in the air is cooled down and clouds are formed. When the clouds reach the peak of the montain, rainfall occurs.

on the other side, Leeward side, wind continue its progression. Due to precipitation on the peak, the cwinds loose its moisture, ended up in dry air with no moisture. After this, dry winds continue to travel towards inland area, where due to loss of moisture, it ends up in the formation of rain desert.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main stages and features of the rain-shadow desert formation process. The overview provided in the second paragraph accurately captures the overall trend, tracing the movement of moist air from the sea and coast over the mountains to the leeward side and inland. Key locations such as the windward side, leeward side, and mountains are correctly integrated into the response. While there are some minor inaccuracies in terminology (such as referring to 'rain desert' instead of 'rain-shadow desert' in the concluding sentence), the fundamental processes of moist air rising, cooling, precipitation occurring, and dry air descending are all well covered. Therefore, the response demonstrates a clear understanding of the visual data.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response exhibits clear logical organization and progression throughout. The student divides the text into an introduction, an overview, and two detailed body paragraphs corresponding to the windward and leeward sides, which demonstrates a sensible structural plan. Cohesive devices and transition markers such as 'Overall', 'To begin with', and 'on the other side, Leeward side' are used to guide the reader through the stages of the diagram. However, referencing is occasionally repetitive, and some sentences feature mechanical transitions. Paragraphing is used appropriately, contributing to an overall coherent piece of writing.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating topic-specific terms such as 'moisture-laden', 'precipitation', 'progression', and 'coastal region'. However, there are notable spelling errors ('digram', 'sidenone', 'montaineous', 'regin', 'excesssive', 'cwinds') and awkward word choices or collocations ('coastal regin are collided with the strong winds'). While less common lexical items are attempted, inaccuracies in spelling and word form prevent the response from achieving a higher band score, though communication is not severely impeded.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and participial phrases (e.g., 'beginning with the wind approaching toward the coast... and culminates with...'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors involving subject-verb agreement, articles, and prepositions (e.g., 'wind approaches toward the coastal region... where wind is forced upwards ended up in clouds formation', 'loose their moisture'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with capitalization at the start of sentences and clauses. These errors occasionally disrupt the flow, placing the response firmly in the Band 6 category.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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