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 graph illustrates how a rain-shadow desert is formed.

Overall, this process involves seven main stages. First, moist winds approaching the coast come from the sea, then these winds go to the windward side, where these winds become clouds and rain. After that, dry air continued to come from the leeward side, and finally these dry winds reached inland areas. However, this process contains thousands of kilometers.

Firstly, winds approaching the coast come from the sea, then these winds push upwards to the windward side. Moreover, when these winds travel at the top of mountains, they become moist air and cooler. In the next stage, clouds are formed in the sky. Furthermore, when clouds reached the top of mountains, they caused rain falls.

Meanwhile, dry air continues to come from over mountains and these dry winds from the leeward side reach inland areas. After this whole process a rain-shadow desert is formed. However, winds comes from sea to in inland areas this process contains thousands of kilometers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the process as having seven stages and include its main sequence: winds arrive from the sea, rise over the mountains, rain falls on the windward side, and dry air reaches inland. This gives the reader a relevant account of how the desert forms. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear. The winds are already moist as they rise and cool; they do not “become moist air” at the mountain top. The overview also says the winds “become clouds and rain,” rather than explaining that clouds form and precipitation falls. The final statement that the process “contains thousands of kilometers” misinterprets the diagram’s horizontal scale. A more precise overview and accurate description of each stage would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs describing the earlier and later stages. Sequencing expressions such as “Firstly,” “In the next stage,” and “After that” help show the order. However, progression is weakened by repeated information: the opening and final paragraphs both say that winds travel from the sea to inland areas, and the overview repeats several details from the body. Some links are also awkward or unclear, particularly “Meanwhile” for the transition to the next stage and “However” before the scale statement. Organise the stages once in a clear sequence, use references such as “these winds” only when their meaning is unmistakable, and reserve the overview for the process’s main pattern.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “windward side,” “leeward side,” “moist air,” “dry air,” and “rain-shadow desert,” so the topic is generally clear. However, the range is limited by repeated use of “winds,” “come,” and “reach,” and several word combinations are inaccurate or unnatural. For example, winds do not “become clouds and rain”; rather, clouds form and rain falls. “Rain falls” is also incorrectly expressed as “caused rain falls,” while “this process contains thousands of kilometers” does not convey the diagram’s scale naturally. Choose precise process verbs such as “rise,” “cool,” “condense,” and “continue,” and describe the scale as extending over thousands of kilometres.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including clauses beginning with “when” and “after,” and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, errors recur in verb forms, agreement, and sentence construction. For example, “dry air continued” shifts into the past when the process is described in the present, “winds comes” has incorrect subject–verb agreement, and “winds push upwards” does not clearly express that the winds are forced upward. The phrase “winds comes from sea to in inland areas” also contains faulty prepositions and an incomplete construction. Use the present simple consistently for a process diagram, check singular and plural subjects, and simplify sentences when several stages are being joined together.

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