Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-14

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 the rain-shadow desert is formed using the main features.

Overall, there are seven steps on how to form a rain-shadow desert. This will mainly start from the approaching wind to coast until the clouds form. When rain falls, dry air continues over mountains. Finally, by the time that dry winds reach inlands areas, rain shadow desert will form.

Initially, winds coming from the sea will approach the coast. Next, the winds will be pushed upwards going to the windward side. When it happened, moist air rises and cools. This results to coulds formation. After that, it will start to rain due to the heaviness of the clouds.

When the rain is over, the dry air will continue to to surround over the mountains. When the air goes down to the leeward side, dry winds will reach the inland areas. This will result to the formation of rain-shadow desert.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You cover the main sequence from winds approaching the coast to the formation of the inland desert, and your overview identifies the process as a series of stages. The details about air rising, cooling, cloud formation, rainfall and dry winds crossing the mountains are generally grounded in the diagram. However, the overview is not fully clear: saying the process starts with wind and continues “until the clouds form” leaves out the later stages that create the desert. Some details are also imprecise, particularly “dry air continues to surround over the mountains”; the diagram shows it continuing over the mountain and then reaching inland. A more complete overview should contrast rainfall on the windward side with dry conditions on the leeward side.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response is arranged in a clear sequence, with an overview followed by paragraphs describing the earlier and later stages. Sequencing expressions such as “Initially,” “Next,” “After that” and “Finally” help the reader follow the process. However, some linking is mechanical, and the overview repeats information that is then given in the body. References such as “When it happened” and “it will start to rain” are not fully precise, so the reader must infer what “it” refers to. The paragraphing is appropriate, but progression would be smoother if each stage were linked directly to its cause or result and the overview summarised the whole process without repeating the sequence.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “windward side,” “leeward side,” “moist air,” “dry winds” and “rain-shadow desert,” which shows an adequate range for describing this diagram. Some choices, however, are inaccurate or awkward: “inlands areas” is not the natural form, “coulds formation” contains a spelling error, and “result to” is an incorrect collocation. “Surround over the mountains” also does not express the movement shown clearly. These errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the overall process, but they limit precision and naturalness. Aim to use standard process collocations such as “lead to,” “form clouds” and “continue across the mountains,” and check spelling and plural forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including clauses beginning “When the rain is over” and “When the air goes down to the leeward side.” The sequence is generally understandable, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “there are seven steps on how to form” uses an awkward construction, while “When it happened” shifts into the past despite the process being described in the present. The phrase “will continue to to” repeats the infinitive marker, and “rain shadow desert will form” needs an article. There is also inconsistent use of future forms for a general process. Use the present simple consistently for diagram descriptions and review articles, verb forms and sentence patterns.

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