Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-09

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 following diagram illustrates the formation of a rain-shadow desert. This process takes place over thousands of kilometres.

Overall, it is crystal clear that the natural creation of rain-shadow deserts, consists of 7 individual processes, taking place in the sea and working over to the inland areas.

First of all, winds from the ocean approach the coast. In mountanious coastal areas, these winds arriving from the ocean are pushed upwards, towards the mountain peak. As the altitude increases, the moist air rises up and cools down, this leads to the synthesis of clouds. Secondly, these clouds then become heavy and cause rainfall before crossing to the other side of the mountain, so, only the windward side experiences rainfall.

At a fleeting glance, the dry air continues over the mountain, reaching the leeward side. This side is often called the rain-shadow, as it experiences zero rain due to the mountain range blocking clouds. Moving forward, the dry winds make their way to the inland areas, raising temperatures and minimising humidity, often leading to droughts. Thus, the formation of a rain-shadow desert is complete.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response covers the main stages and gives a clear overall account: moist ocean air is forced upwards, cools, forms clouds and produces rain on the windward side, while dry air continues inland. This addresses the process and its outcome, and the sequence is generally accurate. However, the overview’s claim that the seven processes take place “in the sea” is imprecise: the diagram shows winds approaching from the sea, with the key changes occurring over the coast and mountains. The explanation that the leeward side experiences “zero rain” and that inland winds raise temperatures and cause droughts goes beyond what the diagram establishes. Keep the account closely tied to the illustrated stages and distinguish the labelled rain-shadow desert from additional effects not shown.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response is organised into an introduction, an overview and two paragraphs that follow the process from the coast to the inland area. Sequencing expressions such as “First of all,” “Secondly,” and “Moving forward” help the reader track the stages, and the progression is easy to follow. Some linking is less precise or slightly overused: “At a fleeting glance” does not naturally introduce the next stage, while “Thus” repeats the sense of completion already conveyed by the preceding sentence. The overview also says the process works “over to” inland areas, which makes the spatial relationship less clear than it could be. Use straightforward transitions and connect each stage directly to the next, especially when moving from rainfall on the windward side to dry air on the leeward side.

Lexical Resource: Band 7.0

There is a sufficient range of vocabulary to describe the process, including “moist air,” “altitude,” “windward side,” “leeward side,” and “humidity.” These terms show awareness of the topic and allow the stages to be described with some precision. Some less common choices are not well matched to the context: “synthesis of clouds” is an unnatural way to describe cloud formation, and “At a fleeting glance” is an unsuitable expression for explaining a diagram. “Crystal clear” is also conversational and adds little to an academic overview. In addition, “mountanious” is misspelled. Prefer accurate, conventional process language such as “clouds form” and “the air becomes drier,” and check spelling and collocations when using less familiar vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex structures, including time clauses and cause-and-effect constructions, as in “As the altitude increases, the moist air rises up and cools down.” Most sentences communicate the process clearly, but some punctuation and sentence-boundary choices reduce accuracy. In “As the altitude increases, the moist air rises up and cools down, this leads to the synthesis of clouds,” two independent clauses are joined with a comma; use a full stop, semicolon or conjunction. The comma after “deserts” in “the natural creation of rain-shadow deserts, consists” is also incorrect. The final sentence, “Thus, the formation … is complete,” is grammatically sound, but the response would show stronger control with more consistently accurate clause joining and punctuation.

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

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