Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-08

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 rain-shadow desert emerge from various process of wather.

Overall, This rain-shadow desert formation involves 7 different series of processes. Begining from approaching of winds towards the coast to the inland area which leads to the emergence of rain-shadow desert.

Initially, Air currents travells up-above the sea towards sea coast. Which thereby pushed towards the mountains, further moves along uphill. while this process happend the air attains moisture and cooldown as it is travelling through mountains along windward side. Then reaches the mountain peak forming clouds which thereafter lead to precipitation. Now the winds started moving downhill along leeward side which eventually dries up. These dry winds reaches the inland area, forming rain-shadow desert. this whole series of phenomenon goes through seven different steps in which the air current stream travelles thousands of kilometres over the huge mountains ( uphill to the downhill ) which finally forms inland rain-shadow desert.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You cover the main sequence and provide an overview, identifying the movement from coastal winds to an inland rain-shadow desert. The account correctly includes uplift, cooling, cloud formation, rainfall, and the drying of air as it crosses the mountains. This gives the response a solid, relevant foundation. Some details, however, are less fully or precisely explained: the opening says winds travel “up-above the sea,” whereas the diagram shows them approaching the coast, and the role of the windward and leeward sides could be made clearer. The statement that the air “attains moisture” is also not clearly supported; the diagram indicates that moist air rises and cools. More exact reporting of these stages would strengthen the description.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and a chronological account of the process. Sequencing expressions such as “Initially,” “Then,” and “Now” help the reader follow the stages. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or unclear, and several sentence boundaries interrupt the flow. For example, “Which thereby pushed towards the mountains” is a fragment, while “while this process happend” begins awkwardly after a full stop. The final sentence repeats the seven-step sequence and the desert’s formation rather than adding a distinct concluding point. Grouping the stages into clearer sentences and using references such as “the air” consistently would make progression smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant process vocabulary, including “precipitation,” “windward side,” “leeward side,” and “inland area,” which helps communicate the diagram’s subject. There are also attempts at more formal wording, such as “emergence” and “phenomenon.” However, word choice and collocation are often inaccurate or unnatural: “various process,” “air attains moisture,” and “cooldown” do not express the stages precisely. Spelling errors such as “wather,” “Begining,” “travells,” and “happend” are noticeable and reduce control. Aim for a smaller set of accurate process terms, and check spelling and word forms carefully; this would make the description clearer and more natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex structures, including clauses linked with “which,” “while,” and “as,” and the overall meaning can generally be followed. However, errors in sentence formation and verb control are frequent enough to make some parts difficult to read. “Which thereby pushed towards the mountains” is an incomplete sentence, and “These dry winds reaches” has a subject–verb agreement error. Tense and clause construction are also inconsistent in “the winds started moving downhill” and “while this process happend the air attains moisture.” Capitalisation after full stops is sometimes incorrect, as in “this whole series.” Build complete sentences around each stage and check agreement and consistent tense.

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