Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-05

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 7.0)

The pitogram illustrates the formation of one type of desert known as a rain-shadow desert.

Overall, the formation of a rain-shadow deserts consists of seven different stages, begining with winds approching the coast and ending with dry winds reaching inland areas. Rainfall occurs on the windward side of the mountain, while the leeward side remains dry, resulting in the formation of desert.

Initially, winds blow through the sea towards the coast and are then forced upward as they encounter the mountains. As the moist air rise along the windward side, it cools, causing clouds to form. When air reaches to a sufficient altitude, rainfall occurs on this side of the mountain. Consequently, the windward slope receives considerable precipitation.

After passing over the mountain peak, the air moves down the leeward side. At this stage the air become a progressively warmer and dried as it decends. Unlike the windward side, there is little or no rainfall on this side. Finally, the dry air continues across the mountains and develop into dry winds, which travel towards inland areas. As a result, a rain-shadow desert is formed thousands of kilometres inland from the coast.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by providing a clear overview of the process and summarising the main stages of rain-shadow desert formation. The candidate accurately reports key features from the diagram, such as winds approaching the coast, the moist air rising and cooling on the windward side to produce rainfall, and the dry air descending on the leeward side to create inland arid conditions. The overview is well-placed at the start of the second paragraph, capturing the seven distinct stages and the contrast between the two sides of the mountain. While the explanation of the progression is clear and logically follows the visual data, certain minor details could be slightly extended to reach the highest performance levels, such as commenting more explicitly on the scale of thousands of kilometres indicated at the base of the diagram.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The essay demonstrates a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Information is grouped sensibly into an introductory sentence, an overview paragraph, a detailed body paragraph on the windward side, and a concluding body paragraph on the leeward side and final desert formation. Cohesive devices such as 'Initially', 'Consequently', 'After passing over', and 'Finally' are used effectively to guide the reader through the sequential stages of the diagram. Paragraphing is managed appropriately, and referencing words like 'this side' and 'the air' maintain clear continuity. To move towards an even higher band, referencing could be slightly more varied and seamless, avoiding minor mechanical repetition in transitions.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

An adequate and generally precise range of vocabulary is deployed to describe the process diagram. The candidate successfully employs less common and topic-specific vocabulary such as 'precipitation', 'altitude', 'leeward side', 'windward slope', and 'arid conditions' (or related descriptive phrasing). However, there are a few notable spelling and word-form errors that prevent a higher score, such as 'pitogram' instead of 'pictogram', 'approching' instead of 'approaching', 'begining' instead of 'beginning', and minor phrasing slips like 'the air become a progressively warmer and dried as it decends' (where 'become' and 'dried' contain morphological errors). Despite these slips, communication remains clear throughout.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response features a good mix of simple and complex sentence forms, successfully incorporating subordinate clauses, conditional-like temporal sequences ('As the moist air rise...'), and participle phrases ('starting with...'). Control over grammar is generally good, and punctuation is handled appropriately. However, a number of grammatical errors persist, particularly with verb forms and agreements, such as 'As the moist air rise' (should be 'rises'), 'When air reaches to a sufficient altitude' (unnecessary preposition 'to'), and 'the air become a progressively warmer and dried' (incorrect articles, tense, and adjective forms). These errors are typical of a mid-level band, where complex structures are attempted with varying degrees of accuracy, though they rarely impede overall communication.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.