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 given process graph showes how the rain-shadow desert is formed. At a glance,there are several important climet changes required to creat one rain-shadow desert.

To start with, winds passing through sea surface near the cost, than this winds get uppword direction because the shape of mountain. Moreover, as the altitude is increasing the air started to get cooler and more moistured. This moist air will eventually creat the thick layer of cloud on sertain point.As the clouds get heavier rain start pouring around the area.This entire process is only happend on the one side of mountain and that is called windward side process.

On the other side of mountain, after the rain fall wind started to get dry again and that dry air will pass through mountain top. The air will continue to travel down side and eventually reach the inland area caring the dry air. This whole process happeds on the leeward side of mountain.

To sum up, the entire process of rain-shadow desert creation takes wind to trvel thousends of kilometres and also there is ned of cost line and and mountain in order to make this happend.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You cover the main sequence: coastal winds rise over the mountains, cool and form clouds, produce rain on the windward side, then continue as dry air inland to create the rain-shadow desert. The contrast between the windward and leeward sides is also made clear. This gives the response a solid account of the process. However, some details are unclear or inaccurate: the air becomes cooler as it rises, but the claim that it becomes “more moistured” is not supported by the diagram, and the final summary suggests the process requires travel over thousands of kilometres without clearly explaining that this is the horizontal scale shown. The overview is present, but could more directly summarise the key cause-and-effect pattern.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response is organised in a clear sequence, moving from the sea and windward slope to the leeward side and inland area. Paragraphing supports this progression, and signposts such as “To start with,” “On the other side,” and “To sum up” help the reader follow the stages. The contrast between the two mountain sides is particularly useful. Some links are less smooth, however: “Moreover” does not clearly show the relationship between rising altitude and cooling, while “This entire process” and “This whole process” repeat similar references without always specifying which stages they mean. A more concise overview followed by clearly linked stage descriptions would make the progression feel more controlled.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “altitude,” “windward side,” “leeward side,” “inland area,” and “dry air,” which helps communicate the diagram’s main features. There are also attempts at more specific phrasing, such as “thick layer of cloud.” However, spelling errors are noticeable (“showes,” “climet,” “uppword,” “thousends”), and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, including “more moistured,” “cost line,” and “caring the dry air.” These sometimes make the description less precise. Aim to use standard process language consistently—for example, “coast,” “moist air,” and “carrying dry air”—and check spelling carefully. This would improve clarity while retaining the useful technical vocabulary already present.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple and longer sentences, including clauses with “because,” “as,” and “after,” and the overall sequence remains understandable. However, control of sentence structure and verb forms is inconsistent. For example, “winds passing through sea surface near the cost, than this winds get uppword direction” is a fragment followed by an incorrectly joined clause; “the air started to get cooler” shifts tense, and “rain start pouring” lacks subject–verb agreement. Articles and plurals are also often missing or inconsistent, as in “on the one side of mountain” and “clouds get heavier rain.” Use present simple throughout for a process, and build each stage as a complete sentence with clear subjects and verbs. More accurate control of these patterns would make your range easier to follow.

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

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