Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-04

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 delineates the sequential process ofthe rain-shadow desert.

Overall, the seven-stage procedure commences with the wind approaching in the coastline through sea and culminates in the inland areas via dry winds by travelling thousand of kilometers.

In the initial stage, wind travels through the sea and reach the coast. The wind is then pushed upwards and forms into moist air and rises up and slowly cools down. This forms the cloud when it goes higher up the mountain. Following formation through the windward side, rain starts to fall from the top of of the mountains.

The dry air countinues to flow down the mountain after the rain, which falls to leeward side of the mountain. The air then converts into dry winds and reaches inland areas and forms rain-shadow desert. this process takes time as wind travels thousand of kilometres to reach inland areas.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by outlining the main stages in the formation of a rain-shadow desert, from the moist winds approaching the coast to the dry winds reaching the inland areas. However, the length requirement is not met, as the response is slightly under the minimum word count of 150 words. Furthermore, certain stages are somewhat under-developed or briefly glossed over, such as the exact geographical relationship between the windward and leeward sides, reflecting a partial rather than fully comprehensive coverage of all visual data details.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The text presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and an overview. Information flows logically following the numbered sequence of the diagram. Cohesive devices are used to guide the reader through the stages, such as 'In the initial stage', 'The wind is then', and 'after the rain'. However, cohesion can feel slightly mechanical at times, and referencing is occasionally repetitive. Paragraphing is generally appropriate, distinguishing between the initial oceanic-coastal stages and the subsequent inland and mountain processes, showing characteristics of both the required band and elements of higher organization.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, attempting some less common terms related to the physical process such as 'delineates', 'sequential process', 'moist air', and 'rain-shadow desert'. However, there are notable word choice and spelling inaccuracies, such as 'countinues' instead of 'continues', 'approaching in the coastline' rather than 'approaching the coastline', and repetitive phrasing like 'dry winds' and 'dry air'. These lexical errors do not seriously impede communication, but they restrict the response from achieving a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative and participial clauses such as 'wind travels through the sea and reach the coast' and 'after the rain, which falls to leeward side'. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, including subject-verb agreement issues like 'wind travels ... and reach', missing articles ('to leeward side' instead of 'to the leeward side', 'forms rain-shadow desert'), and a lowercase sentence start ('this process takes time'). Nonetheless, these errors are relatively infrequent and rarely impede overall communication.

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

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