Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-02

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 6.5)

The diagram illustrates how a rain-shadow desert is formed through a series of natural processes involving winds, mountains, clouds and rainfall.

For example, moist winds from the sea approached the coast and are pushed upwards then they reach to the mountains. As the air rises, it becomes cooler, which leads to the clouds. After that, heavy rainfall occurs on the side of the mountain.

As the air crosses the mountain peak, it loses most of it moist. Therefore, dry air continues to move down to the mountain side. Finally, these dry winds reach towards inland areas, where very little rainfall occurs. As a result, a rain-shadow desert is formed on the inland side of the mountain.

In conclusion, mountains play an important role in the formation of rain-shadow deserts by blocking moist air winds and creating dry conditions on the opposite side.Rain falls on the windward side, while the leeward side remains dry, that creating is called a rain-shadow desert

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response covers all key stages of the rain-shadow desert formation process shown in the diagram, from moist winds approaching the coast to the creation of the desert on the inland side. The overview is clearly stated in the introduction, and the main features are successfully reported with appropriate comparisons between the windward and leeward sides. However, some aspects of the process are slightly under-developed or briefly glossed over, such as the exact transition of dry air crossing the mountain peak and descending into the inland area. To reach a higher level, the description of these intermediate meteorological stages could be extended with more precise referencing to the sequence of steps depicted.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response presents a coherent overall arrangement with a logical progression from the sea and coast across the mountain range to the inland desert. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate different stages of the process, moving from initial air movement and cloud formation to crossing the mountain and the final desert creation. Cohesive devices such as 'For example', 'As the air rises', 'After that', and 'Finally' are employed to guide the reader through the sequence. Nevertheless, cohesion occasionally feels slightly mechanical, and referencing slips—such as the awkward phrasing at the very end of the text ('that creating is called')—disrupt the smooth flow of information.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for describing a natural process, incorporating relevant terms like 'moist winds', 'precipitation', 'mountain peak', and 'rain-shadow desert'. There are appropriate attempts to use less common vocabulary, though some inaccuracies in word choice and word form occur, such as writing 'it moist' instead of 'its moisture' and 'approach' in the past tense ('approached') within a present-tense description. Spelling is generally accurate, and vocabulary errors do not impede overall communication. To achieve a higher band, the writer needs to demonstrate greater precision in word selection and collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing dependent clauses effectively in structures like 'As the air rises, it becomes cooler' and 'when very little rainfall occurs.' There are, however, some grammatical errors present, particularly with tense consistency ('approached' instead of 'approach') and prepositional patterns ('reach to the mountains' instead of 'reach the mountains'). Punctuation is mostly functional, but sentence boundary issues appear towards the end of the text, notably in the final ungrammatical fragment 'that creating is called a rain-shadow desert.' These errors occur across a mix of structures and occasionally cause minor hesitation, though they rarely impede overall comprehension.

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