Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-24

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 given picture illustrates how rain-shadow desert, is produced.

Overall, it can be seen that wind move upward toward the mountain top where it causes rain falls and finally when dry air reach inland areas, rain-shadow desert is formed. For formation of rain-shadow desert, wind needs to travel longer distances.

Initially, wind generate at sea and flow toward coast, where it starts to move upwards on the windward side of mountain. As the wind moving towards the mountain top, it becomes to moist and finally cools as a result clouds formed.

The clouds started to rain falls on pick of mountain.

Moreover, on the Leeward side, the dry is looking to move toward downward side of mountain. When dry winds reached at the inland area the rain-shadow desert is produced. The winds cover thousand of kilometers of distance from sea to inland and passing through mountains as a result desert formed.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response covers the main sequence from sea winds rising over the mountains to rain on the windward side and dry air reaching inland, and it gives an overall account of how the desert forms. This meets the task well, with the overview showing the central cause-and-effect process. Some details are less fully or clearly reported: the description does not explicitly explain that rising moist air cools before clouds form, and the final stages on the leeward side are described vaguely. The statement that the wind “needs to travel longer distances” is not a clear feature of the process; the diagram indicates a horizontal scale of thousands of kilometres. To strengthen the account further, report the stages in precise order and distinguish the wet windward side from the dry leeward side.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction and overview are followed by the early stages and then the inland outcome. Sequencing expressions such as “Initially,” “As,” and “Moreover” help the reader follow the process. However, progression is not consistently smooth. The sentence “The clouds started to rain falls on pick of mountain” is isolated, and the next paragraph’s opening, “Moreover, on the Leeward side,” does not clearly connect the rainfall to the air continuing over the mountain. Some linking is also repetitive, particularly the repeated use of “as a result.” Group the stages into clearer connected sentences and use references such as “this air” or “the resulting dry winds” to make the relationships between stages more explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The response uses relevant process vocabulary, including “windward side,” “Leeward side,” “clouds,” “inland areas,” and “rain-shadow desert,” so the topic is generally clear. There is also an attempt to describe movement and change with “move upwards,” “cools,” and “reached.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, such as “wind generate at sea,” “becomes to moist,” “rain falls,” and “the dry is looking to move.” “Pick” is also an incorrect form for the mountain’s “peak.” These errors sometimes make the process harder to understand, and repeated use of “wind” and “desert is formed” limits flexibility. Aim for precise process phrases such as “moist air rises,” “precipitation falls,” and “dry air descends.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

There are attempts at both simple and complex sentences, including “As the wind moving towards the mountain top…” and “When dry winds reached at the inland area…”. However, control of sentence structure and verb forms is inconsistent, and errors occur often enough to make some relationships difficult to follow. Examples include “wind move upward,” “wind generate,” and “dry winds reached,” where subject–verb agreement or tense is faulty. The clause “As the wind moving…” lacks a finite verb, while “it becomes to moist” has an incorrect construction. Articles and sentence boundaries also need attention, as in “how rain-shadow desert, is produced” and the separate sentence about clouds and rain. Practise accurate present-simple descriptions of processes and check each clause for a subject and a correctly formed verb.

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

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