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 illustrates the formation of one kind of desert, naely rain-shadow desert, in seven steps.

In general, the desert is mainly generated from the sea-winds that pass over mountains, ranging almost thousands of kilometers. Those winds create clouds and fall in the form of rain.

At first, winds from the sea approaches to the coast. Then it is pushed upwards and increases the moisture of air. As the winds rise, the mountains cools it down. As a result it turns into clouds. After that, rain falls and make the air dry which continues over mountain. Those dry air then approaches downward to the inland areas. This is how the desert is formed.

The process indicates the ups and downs of the atmosphere, which is created because of the winds blowing from one side to the other of the mountains. When the dry air covers the surface area, it creates a shadow and thus rain-shadow desert is formed.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by outlining the seven key steps of the rain-shadow desert formation process from the sea to inland areas. However, some parts of the process are under-developed or inaccurately described. For instance, stating that winds increase the moisture of the air when pushed upwards is scientifically inaccurate based on the diagram, which shows that moist air rises and cools to form clouds and rain. The overview mentions that winds pass over mountains spanning thousands of kilometers and create precipitation, capturing the general trend, but the lack of precise development and minor factual slips keep the task achievement level restrained to a partial and somewhat limited interpretation of the visual data.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall arrangement and follows a logical sequence mirroring the numbered steps in the diagram, beginning with the winds approaching the coast and ending with inland desert formation. Paragraphing is used to separate the introduction, overview, body, and concluding thoughts, contributing to readability. However, cohesion is occasionally mechanical and repetitive, relying heavily on basic sequence connectors such as 'At first', 'Then', and 'After that'. Referencing is also slightly unclear at times, such as when pronouns like 'it' or 'Those dry air' lack precise noun agreement, reflecting typical characteristics of a mid-level band where cohesive devices are serviceable but somewhat faulty.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common and topic-specific terms like 'atmosphere', 'moisture', and 'precipitation-related concepts'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'naely' instead of 'namely', and awkward lexical collocations like 'generated from the sea-winds' or 'fall in the form of rain'. Word form inaccuracies also appear, such as using 'mountain cools it down' where plural agreement is missing, and the spelling slip 'approaches' in place of past tense verbs. These errors do not seriously impede overall communication, but they restrict the lexical score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at subordinate clauses such as 'when the dry air covers the surface area'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors in verb forms, tense consistency, and subject-verb agreement. For example, the text switches between past and present reference frames inappropriately ('winds from the sea approaches' and 'Then it is pushed'), and there are issues with pluralisation and articles, such as 'rain-shadow desert' missing a determiner and 'Those dry air' mixing plural demonstratives with singular nouns. These frequent errors in basic and complex structures require effort from the reader, placing the grammar performance firmly in the mid-range.

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

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