Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The diagram illustrates how a particular type of desert, know as rain-shadow desert, is formed. It takes seven steps to complete the process of formation.

Overall, the wind from sea approach's toward mountains and get up from the windward side and make rain from the clouds. Furthermore, the remaining dry air continues over mountain and get to Inland from leeward side. The wind which reaches inland areas and forms rain-shadow desert.

The process of formation of rain-shadow desert starts from the sea, the wind approach towards the coastal area from where it gets pushed upward, where moist air rises and cools down which forms clouds on the peak of the mountain. Moreover, the clouds starts to rain and further process continues. For this side of mountain where wind flows upwards it is called 'Winward side'.

The 'Leeward side' where dry air continues over mountain and starts to flow downward and reaches inland areas which is called rain-shadow desert. However, the process looks simple but it could take time beacuse of thousands of kilometres of wide mountains.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by outlining the main stages involved in the formation of a rain-shadow desert, from the sea and coastal winds to the windward and leeward sides of the mountains. An overview is provided near the beginning, summarising the core movement of moisture and dry air across the landscape. However, certain parts of the response are somewhat under-developed or lack precision. For instance, the transition from clouds forming and rain falling to the continuation of dry air is described rather simplistically, and some minor details from the diagram are generalised. To move to a higher band, the student should ensure that all key features and relationships shown in the diagram are fully extended and described with greater precision.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The text presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the information logically into an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs detailing the stages. Paragraphing is utilised to separate the windward and leeward processes. Nevertheless, cohesion is at times mechanical or faulty, with repetitive phrasing such as 'The process of formation of rain-shadow desert starts' and occasional referencing issues, such as 'For this side of mountain where wind flows upwards it is called 'Winward side''. While progression is generally clear, transitional devices are somewhat basic. To achieve a higher level of cohesion, the student should use a wider variety of cohesive ties more flexibly and ensure that referencing between sentences is smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

An adequate range of vocabulary is deployed for the task, successfully incorporating key technical terms directly from the visual prompt such as 'rain-shadow desert', 'windward side', 'leeward side', and 'inland areas'. The student attempts less common vocabulary items, although this is accompanied by some inaccuracies in word choice, spelling, and word form, such as 'know' instead of 'known', 'approach's' instead of 'approaches', 'beacuse', and 'Winward'. Despite these lexical slips, communication is not impeded and the meaning remains clear. To improve further, the student should focus on accurate spelling, correct word forms, and natural collocations when discussing scientific processes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting relative clauses and conditional structures such as 'the wind which reaches inland areas' and 'For this side of mountain where wind flows upwards it is called'. There are noticeable errors in grammar, articles, prepositions, and verb agreements throughout the text, including 'the wind from sea approach's toward mountains and get up', 'make rain from the clouds', and missing articles before nouns like 'sea' and 'mountain'. However, these errors rarely impede communication and the reader can follow the intended meaning. To reach a higher band, the student needs to demonstrate greater control over complex sentence structures, articles, subject-verb agreement, and punctuation.

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

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