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 diagram shows how rain-shadow dessert is formed. There are several stages occur in order for this to happen.

A mountain that messures a thousand kilometers has an essential role for this formation. Initially, winds approach the coast and then it pushes upwards to the slope. As a result, the moist air rises and cools on the windward side of the mountain that allows the clouds to form. Afterwards, when the clouds form heavy with moisture and ready to release the rain, it begin to fall all over the top of the mountain.

Thereafter, dry air continues over to the mountain going down to the Leeward side until it reaches the inland areas, the grounds where the rain-shadow desert is formed.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the process and describe several key stages, including winds approaching the coast, rising and cooling on the windward side, rainfall, and dry air moving inland. However, the account is incomplete: it does not clearly explain that the mountain forces the winds upwards, and the final transition to dry winds reaching inland and creating the desert is only briefly stated. The claim that the mountain measures “a thousand kilometers” misreads the diagram: “Thousands of kilometres” labels the horizontal scale, not the mountain’s height. The response also contains 121 words, below the required 150, so the process is not developed sufficiently. Include a concise overview and explain the full sequence more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The stages are presented in a generally logical order, and paragraph breaks separate the initial explanation from the later movement of dry air. Sequencing expressions such as “Initially,” “As a result,” and “Thereafter” help guide the reader, supporting a coherent overall arrangement. To make the progression clearer and more complete, give each stage a distinct, connected explanation: the current final paragraph compresses the movement over the mountain, descent on the leeward side, and desert formation into one sentence. Some linking is also slightly mechanical, particularly “Afterwards” followed by “Thereafter.” Use a clearer overview and more precise references to the wind and mountain so that pronouns such as “it” have an unmistakable referent.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a reasonable range of process vocabulary, including “moist air,” “windward side,” “release,” and “Leeward side,” and the main meaning remains understandable. There are also attempts at more specific phrasing, such as “essential role” and “inland areas.” However, some word choices or forms are inaccurate: “dessert” should be “desert,” “messures” should be “measures,” and “the grounds where” is an awkward way to describe the area where the desert forms. “A mountain that measures a thousand kilometers” also misrepresents the scale label. Aim for precise, natural collocations such as “the mountain forces the air upwards” and “the desert forms inland on the leeward side.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and complex sentences, including a sequence with “As a result” and a clause beginning “when the clouds form.” The overall meaning is usually recoverable, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “There are several stages occur” needs a relative clause (“There are several stages that occur”) or a different construction, and “winds … it pushes” has a subject–verb agreement and reference problem. In “the windward side of the mountain that allows,” the relative clause does not clearly attach to the intended noun. There are also awkward or incomplete patterns in “dry air continues over to the mountain going down.” Use shorter, controlled sentences to describe each stage, then check agreement, clause links, and punctuation.

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