Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-25

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 process diagram below depicts the formation of single kind of desert into rain-shadow desert.

Overall, there are seven major steps that plays vital role involving in formation of rain-shadow desert and the initial stage is substantial, whereas the fifth stage is the cause for rain.

Initially winds start form the sea and approaches to the coast, due the the resistance, winds pushed to the upwards direction therefore it become moisty air in the next step when the air rose and cool down the formation of cloud started and it caused rain fall.

Furthermore, dry air continuously travels to the mountain and starts moving along with leeward side. Consequently, after travelling thousands of kilometers dry winds finally reached to the inland area, and resulting in the formation of rain-shadow desert. Overall, it was a long distance and take time taken process for the wind from sea to the top of the mountain and downward to the the inland area.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover the main sequence, from winds approaching the coast to dry winds reaching inland and the resulting desert, and your overview identifies the seven stages and links rainfall with the process. However, some details are unclear or inaccurate: the winds do not start “from the sea” according to the labels, and the explanation that “due the resistance” pushes them upward is not shown in the diagram. The key mechanism could be reported more precisely: moist air rises and cools, clouds form, and rain falls on the windward side; dry air then crosses the mountain and reaches the leeward inland area. The overview’s claim that the initial stage is “substantial” is also not a meaningful feature of the process. More accurate, fully developed stage descriptions would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction and overview are followed by the earlier and later stages, with sequencing words such as “Initially,” “Furthermore,” and “Consequently.” This gives the reader a generally coherent account of the process. However, the stages are compressed into long sentences, so the transitions between rising air, cooling, cloud formation, and rainfall are not always easy to follow. “Overall” is also used again at the end, where it introduces a comment about distance and time rather than a useful concluding summary. Organise the stages in clearer steps and use linking expressions to show cause and sequence precisely, rather than relying on broad connectors.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a reasonable range of process vocabulary, including “formation,” “resistance,” “continuously,” “leeward side,” and “inland area,” and the main subject remains understandable. Some choices, however, are inaccurate or unnatural for describing this diagram. “Moisty air” is not the appropriate term, while “the initial stage is substantial” does not clearly convey a process feature. Phrases such as “starts form” and “long distance and take time taken process” also show imprecise word choice or collocation. Aim for standard geographical terms and concise process language, such as “moist air,” “is forced upwards,” and “travels inland.” This would make the description more precise without requiring unnecessarily elaborate vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including cause-and-effect structures with “therefore” and “Consequently,” but grammatical control is uneven. Errors include subject–verb agreement in “seven major steps that plays,” missing or incorrect verb forms in “winds start form” and “winds pushed,” and tense inconsistency in “winds finally reached” after present-tense descriptions. Articles and prepositions are also problematic, as in “formation of single kind” and “due the the resistance.” Several clauses are joined into long sentences without clear punctuation, which makes relationships harder to follow. Practise accurate present-simple passive forms for processes—for example, “the winds are pushed upwards”—and check agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries.

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