Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 shows the formation of the rain-shadow deserts. The process consist of total 7 steps which shows the journey of wind from the sea to inland area in between it crosses the huge mountains which are everywhere for thousands of kilometers. The formation begins with the coastal side which is also a windward side of the mountain. It commence with the coastal winds flows towards the mountain. Once the winds approaches the mountain, the drag of air pushed them upwards towards the peak of the mountain. As soon as the moist air rises and becomes cooler, it started getting transformed into the clouds and results in the rain falls. The winds doesn't stop there instead they carry on to travel thousands of kilometers and reaches to the otherside of the mountain which is leeward. The dry air continues over the several mountains and reaches inland areas which is know as the rain-shadow desert.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover the main sequence from winds approaching the coast to dry air reaching inland, and you correctly identify the windward and leeward sides and the rain-shadow desert. The explanation that moist air rises, cools, forms clouds and produces rain captures the central cause-and-effect process. However, the overview is not clearly separated from the stage-by-stage account, and some details are imprecise: the diagram indicates that winds cross the mountain, but does not say that mountains are “everywhere” or that the dry air travels over “several mountains.” The horizontal scale is also described as thousands of kilometres, rather than as a label indicating the distance shown. A clearer summary of the overall pattern, followed by accurate stage details, would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The information follows the process in a generally logical order, and linking expressions such as “Once,” “As soon as,” and “instead” help show how one stage leads to another. The reader can follow the movement from the coast, over the mountains, and into the inland desert. However, the response is presented as one long paragraph, so the overall summary and the detailed sequence are not clearly distinguished. Some links are also awkward or unclear, particularly “The process consist of total 7 steps which shows…” and “The winds doesn’t stop there instead…”. Organise the response into an overview and a process paragraph, and use simpler, more precise transitions to make the progression smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “windward,” “leeward,” “moist air,” “peak,” and “rain-shadow desert,” which allows you to describe the diagram’s key features. There is also some variety in how you describe movement and change, such as “rises,” “transformed,” and “continues.” At times, however, word choice and collocation are imprecise: “drag of air” does not clearly describe the upward movement, while “the coastal winds flows” and “results in the rain falls” are awkward expressions. “Everywhere for thousands of kilometers” also overstates what the diagram shows. Prefer accurate process phrases such as “orographic uplift,” “precipitation occurs,” and “dry air moves inland,” while ensuring that less familiar terms are used naturally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of sentence forms, including time clauses and cause-and-effect structures, as in “As soon as the moist air rises…” This gives the account some variety, and the main stages remain understandable. However, errors in agreement, tense, articles and sentence construction occur in several places. For example, “The process consist” should be “The process consists,” “the coastal winds flows” should be “the coastal winds flow,” and “it started getting transformed” shifts awkwardly from present description to past tense. The sentence beginning “The process consist of total 7 steps” also has an unclear relative clause. Keep the process consistently in the present simple, check subject–verb agreement, and revise each sentence for a clear subject and verb.

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