Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-04

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 diagram illustrates the process of creating a rain-shadow desert.

It is clear that the process of forming a rain-shadow desert consists of seven different steps and it starts with approaching winds to the coast and finishes with reaching dry winds to the inland areas. Additionally, there is thousands of kilometres betweencoast and rain-shadow desert.

At the first stage of the process, from the sea winds blow to the coastal area. After blowing, following the windward side, it is pushed to the upwards of the mountains. Then, moisture mixes with the air then it rises up and gradually cools. After cooling, the air converts to clouds.

In the following stage, cloud causes to the rain falls over the mountains. In the sixth stage of creating rain-shadow desert, dry ary continues over mountains following the leeward side. Finally, dry winds reach to the inland areas and the rain-shadow desert is established.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response covers the main sequence and gives a clear overall account: winds move from the sea towards the coast, rise over the mountains, cool and form clouds, rain falls, and dry air continues inland to create the desert. This addresses the process accurately, including the windward and leeward sides. However, some stages are less fully explained: the description does not clearly state that the mountains force the winds upwards, and “moisture mixes with the air” is not the diagram’s stated relationship. The scale is also reported imprecisely as “thousands of kilometres between coast and rain-shadow desert”; it is a horizontal scale, not a specific distance between those two points. A more precise overview and closer reporting of these details would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The information is arranged in a sensible sequence, with an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs describing the stages. Sequencing phrases such as “At the first stage,” “In the following stage,” and “Finally” help the reader follow the process. Overall progression is clear, but some links are mechanical or awkward: “After blowing, following the windward side” and “Then, moisture mixes with the air then it rises up” make the relationships between steps difficult to follow. The overview also repeats the start and finish of the process without smoothly connecting them to the scale detail. Use more precise links between cause and result, and avoid repeating “then” within the same sentence, to make cohesion more natural.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The response uses relevant process vocabulary, including “windward side,” “leeward side,” “moisture,” “coastal area,” and “inland areas,” so the topic is generally clear. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “process of creating” a desert, “pushed to the upwards,” “air converts to clouds,” and “cloud causes to the rain falls.” There are also spelling and word-form slips, including “ary” for “air” and “coast” where “coast” is used in an awkward phrase. These errors do not prevent understanding, but they limit precision and naturalness. Aim for standard process collocations such as “is forced upwards,” “condenses to form clouds,” and “rain falls.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

There is a mix of simple and more complex forms, including the overview sentence beginning “It is clear that…” and the time clauses “After cooling” and “In the sixth stage…”. The sequence remains understandable, but some grammatical errors occur. For example, “there is thousands of kilometres” has a subject–verb agreement problem, while “cloud causes to the rain falls” has an incorrect clause structure. “It is pushed to the upwards of the mountains” also shows problems with the passive construction and preposition pattern. The sentence “Then, moisture mixes with the air then it rises up” joins two clauses awkwardly. Work on agreement, articles, and forming cause-and-effect clauses; varying sentence patterns while checking these structures would improve accuracy.

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