Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-08

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 5.5)

The schematic diagram illustrates the process of formation of rain shadow desert.

Overall, the creation of such desert involved seven steps starting with the wind blowing above the sea, which travels thousands of kilometer,passing through the peak of mountain, getting dried up and reacheing to the inland area and resulted in rain shadow deser formation.

The process started with the air approaching the sea which was then pushed upward towards the peak of mountain at the windward side.This wind was then cool down and get moistened which ultimately resulted in whitecloud formation.These clouds were burst into rain at the highest point of mountain and dried up here.The dried air continued to flow downward at the leeward side and subsequently reached to the inland areas where the desert was came into origion. The travelling of air from coast side to the inland costed thousands of kilometers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the diagram as a process and give an overview of its seven stages, from winds approaching the coast to dry air reaching inland and forming a desert. You also include the key contrast between the windward and leeward sides. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the air is described as becoming “moistened” after cooling, whereas the diagram shows moist air rising and cooling before clouds form and rain falls. The opening also says the wind travels thousands of kilometres, although that label indicates the horizontal scale of the process. The response is five words below the required minimum, and several stages are compressed rather than clearly explained. Add a little detail and report the sequence precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall sequence: an introductory statement, an overview, and a description beginning with coastal winds and ending inland. Time and sequence markers such as “Overall,” “The process started,” “which ultimately,” and “subsequently” help the reader follow the stages. However, the overview and body repeat some information, and the long second sentence in the overview combines several stages, making the progression harder to track. Some references are also unclear, particularly “This wind” and “dried up here,” where the reader must infer what “here” refers to. Separate the stages into shorter, more focused sentences and use explicit references to air, clouds, and the mountain sides.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “windward side,” “leeward side,” “inland areas,” and “formation,” which helps convey the diagram’s subject. There is also some variety in verbs such as “approaching,” “pushed upward,” and “continued to flow.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward: “clouds were burst into rain” and “the desert was came into origion” do not express the process naturally, while “costed thousands of kilometers” misuses the scale label. Spelling errors such as “reacheing,” “deser,” and “origion,” along with the joined form “whitecloud,” are noticeable. Use precise process terms such as “condense,” “precipitation,” and “form,” and check spelling and collocations carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, using clauses with “which” and sequencing expressions to describe the stages. The overall meaning is generally recoverable, but frequent errors in verb forms, articles, agreement, and sentence construction make some parts difficult to read. For example, “This wind was then cool down and get moistened” needs consistent passive forms, and “the desert was came into origion” has an incorrect verb construction. Articles and plurals are also inconsistent in phrases such as “peak of mountain” and “rain shadow desert.” Punctuation spacing is uneven, with missing spaces after full stops and commas. Practise forming accurate passive sentences for processes, such as “the air is pushed upwards” and “rain falls,” before adding longer clauses.

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