Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-11

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 5.0)

The given diagram illustrate the how one kind of desert , known as a rain shadow desert , is formed

It is vivid that the types of rain shadow deserts the wind approach coast coming from sea it cross to coast and winds pushed upwards after that it has changing into the moist air rises and cools this air reaching to windward side from mountains and making cloud form

moving towards ,after making clouds form it is making rain falls the dry air over mountain go down from the leeward sides to dry winds reach inland areas and go down to rain shadow desert

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the subject and report several relevant stages, including winds approaching from the sea, rising on the windward side, cloud formation, rainfall, and dry air moving inland. However, the process is only minimally summarised: there is no clear overview of the overall cause-and-effect pattern, and some stages are unclear or incomplete. For example, the response does not clearly explain that moist air cools as it rises, loses moisture as rain on the windward side, and then descends as dry air on the leeward side, creating the inland desert. The response is also 92 words, below the required 150; 10 words copied from the task prompt were excluded from that count. Develop the stages and their relationship to the desert’s formation more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response follows the diagram’s general sequence, moving from winds approaching the coast to rainfall and then dry winds reaching inland areas. This gives the reader a basic sense of progression. However, the ideas are presented in two loosely connected blocks rather than a clearly organised summary with an overview and a step-by-step account. Linking phrases such as “after that” and “moving towards” are used awkwardly, and the second paragraph’s opening does not clearly connect to the preceding point. Several stages run together in long strings, making it difficult to see where one event ends and the next begins. Use clear sentence boundaries and sequence markers, and group the windward and leeward stages logically.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “coast,” “moist air,” “windward side,” “mountains,” “leeward sides,” and “rain shadow desert.” These terms show some awareness of the diagram’s specific subject and help convey the main stages. However, the range is limited, and several word combinations or forms are inaccurate, such as “making cloud form,” “it has changing into,” and “it is making rain falls.” Repetition of “making” and “go down” also reduces precision. Choose verbs that describe the process directly, such as “form,” “fall,” “rise,” and “descend,” and use the diagram’s labels consistently. More precise vocabulary would make the explanation clearer without requiring unnecessarily advanced words.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

There is an attempt to connect stages in longer sentences, but sentence structures are very limited and frequent errors sometimes obscure the relationships between events. The opening, “The given diagram illustrate the how,” has problems with subject–verb agreement and sentence construction. In “the wind approach coast,” the verb form and missing articles affect accuracy, while “it has changing into the moist air rises and cools” combines clauses without a workable grammatical structure. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with spaces before commas and few clear sentence boundaries. Practise writing one complete sentence for each stage, checking subject–verb agreement, articles, and verb forms; then combine selected stages using accurate clauses such as “As the moist air rises, it cools and forms clouds.”

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

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