Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-17

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 6.5)

The given process describes the various steps which are included as a rain-shadow desert is formed. It is evident that 7 no. of steps are inclucated in the process. This is a gradual process.

To embark with, it is noticeable that winds blow from the sea towards the coast and are forced upwards as they encounter a mountain range. As the moist air rises along the windward side of the mountain, it gradually cools, leading to the formation of clouds. Subsequently, rainfall allowing mositure to be realeased into the atmosphere in the form of precipitation. Moreover, after the air passes over the mountain peak, it continues towards the leeward side. By this stage, most of its moisture has been lost through rainfall on the opposite slope. The air becomes dry as it descends the mountain. Rather than producing futher precipition, these dry winds continue to move inland over thousands of kilometres. Finally, the lack of moisture on the leeward side prevents significant rainfall from occuring. As a result, the inland region recives very little precipitation and gradually develop into a rain-shadow desert.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response covers the main sequence accurately: winds move from the sea, rise over the windward slope, cool and form clouds, then rain falls before dry air crosses the mountains towards the inland desert. The overview that this is a gradual, seven-step process is relevant, and the explanation of moisture loss gives the process a clear cause-and-effect account. Some details are less fully or precisely reported, however. The diagram shows dry air continuing over the mountain and dry winds reaching inland; the claim that the air “descends the mountain” is an added detail rather than an explicitly labelled stage. The final explanation also repeats the lack of moisture and little rainfall without clarifying the overall contrast between the wet windward side and arid leeward region. A sharper overview and closer adherence to the depicted stages would strengthen the report.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The information is organised in a clear progression, moving from a brief introduction to the windward stages and then to the dry inland outcome. Sequencing expressions such as “To embark with,” “Subsequently,” “Moreover,” and “Finally” help the reader follow the process, and the causal link between rainfall and the dry air is generally easy to understand. The paragraphing is appropriate, although the opening is somewhat detached from the detailed account. Some linking is mechanical or imprecise: “Moreover” introduces the next stage rather than an additional point, while “Subsequently, rainfall allowing…” is not a complete sentence and interrupts the flow. The final two sentences also partly repeat the same consequence. More varied, precise transitions and tighter linking between stages would make the progression smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

There is an adequate range of process vocabulary, including “windward side,” “leeward side,” “precipitation,” “moisture,” and “rain-shadow desert,” which allows the stages to be described clearly. The writer also attempts more formal wording, such as “encounter” and “significant rainfall.” However, several spelling errors and awkward choices reduce precision: “inclucated,” “mositure,” “realeased,” “futher,” “precipition,” “occuring,” and “recives.” Some phrases are also unnatural, notably “7 no. of steps” and “rainfall allowing moisture to be released into the atmosphere,” since rainfall is the precipitation itself rather than moisture being released into the atmosphere. More accurate spelling and natural collocations would improve control while retaining the useful technical vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex structures, including the subordinate clause “As the moist air rises along the windward side…” and the result construction “As a result, the inland region…”. Most stages remain understandable, and the writer generally maintains present-tense description. Some grammatical errors are present, however. “Subsequently, rainfall allowing…” is a sentence fragment; it needs a finite verb, for example, “Subsequently, rainfall occurs, releasing moisture…” The phrase “the inland region … gradually develop” also has a subject–verb agreement error, and “as a rain-shadow desert is formed” is less natural than “as a rain-shadow desert forms.” These issues do not prevent understanding, but more consistent sentence completion and agreement, alongside the existing complex structures, would improve accuracy.

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