Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-06

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 flow chart illustrates how one type of desert is called a rain-shadow desert, which is thousands of kilometers wide.

Overall, the whole process consists of seven steps, and each step performs a specific role. Wind is an important factor because wind approaches the coast and pushes it through different temperatures, which form clouds on the windward side; however, the dry air continues on the right side, reaching the leeward side. Through this, rain shadow deserts form on the right of the mountain. The mountain is thousands of kilometers wide.

The diagram represents that, firstly, wind approaches the coast over the sea. The mountain ridge pushes the air upward, along which moist air rises and cools; through this, clouds are formed along the Windward side. Heavy rain occurs, but dry air continues over the mountain and towards the leeward side and reaches the inland areas, where rain shadow deserts occur.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You cover the main sequence accurately: winds approach from the sea, rise over the mountains, cool and form clouds, produce rain on the windward side, then continue as dry air towards the inland desert. The overview also identifies the seven stages and the desert’s position beyond the mountains. This gives the account a clear grasp of the process, with some relevant detail. However, the claim that the desert is “thousands of kilometers wide” and that “the mountain is thousands of kilometers wide” misreads the diagram: the label refers to the horizontal distance shown, not the width of either feature. The description of wind being pushed “through different temperatures” is also less precise than explaining that moist air rises and cools. Clarifying these points would make the report more fully accurate and developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an introduction and overview to a description of the stages, and the sequence from coast to inland is generally easy to follow. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “firstly,” and “however” help signal relationships. However, the overview repeats information that is then given again in the final paragraph, while the first paragraph’s claim about the desert’s width interrupts the process summary. Some links are also imprecise: “Through this” does not clearly identify which preceding event causes the desert to form, and “along which” makes the relationship between the mountain ridge and rising air awkward. Grouping the overview separately and presenting each stage once in a clear sequence would improve progression and cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use a suitable range of process vocabulary, including “approaches,” “moist air,” “windward side,” “leeward side,” and “inland areas.” These terms show awareness of the diagram’s subject and generally communicate the stages clearly. There is some variation in how you describe movement and formation, although several phrases are imprecise or repetitive. “Pushes it through different temperatures” does not express the process naturally, and “the mountain is thousands of kilometers wide” uses the scale label inaccurately. “Rain shadow deserts” is also written without the hyphen used in the task’s term, though this does not prevent understanding. More precise collocations and less repetition of “through this” would make the description more fluent and exact.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including clauses with “because,” “which,” and “where.” Most of the process remains understandable, and the sequence is expressed with generally appropriate present-tense forms. Some grammatical choices, however, make relationships unclear. In “the whole process consists of seven steps, and each step performs a specific role,” the second clause is grammatically possible but awkwardly constructed; “each of which has a specific function” would be more controlled. The clause “the mountain ridge pushes the air upward, along which moist air rises and cools” has an unclear relative reference, and the long sentence beginning “Overall” joins several ideas in a way that is difficult to track. Aim for clearer clause connections and more controlled sentence boundaries.

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

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