Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The given diagram illustrates how one type of desert is formed known as a rain-shadow desert.

Overall, it can be seen that this is a linear process, the process consists of several stages. Starting with Winds approach coast, Winds pushed upwards and ending with Dry air continues over mountain, and Dry winds reach inland areas.

Initially, mountain consists of several type of rain-shadow desert, left side of the mountain winds approach cost is slowly going and winds pushed upwards like moist air rises and gating cools. However, top of the mountain the windward side there the moist air form clouds, when clouds gets rise up and clouds get hevy and make the rain falls. whiles, dry air continues over the mountain by the leeward side after that dry air continuesly goes down and reach the inland areas which is rain-shadow desert. Moreover, sea and coast are thousands of kilometres far away from inland rain-shadow desert.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the diagram as a process and describe its main sequence: coastal winds rise over the mountains, clouds form, rain falls, and dry air reaches the inland desert. The overview also correctly presents it as a staged process. However, some stages are less clearly explained than others. For example, the account does not clearly state that moist air rises and cools before cloud formation, and the opening claim that the mountain “consists of several type of rain-shadow desert” misrepresents the diagram. The final point about the sea and inland areas being thousands of kilometres apart is relevant to the scale, but the main cause-and-effect relationship could be made more explicit. A more precise overview and clearer explanation of the windward-to-leeward transition would strengthen the report.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview, and a paragraph describing the stages. The sequence is generally traceable, and words such as “Initially,” “However,” and “Moreover” show an attempt to connect information. However, some links are inaccurate or make the progression harder to follow: “However” does not express the relationship between the windward slope and cloud formation, while “whiles” introduces the later stage awkwardly. The overview also lists stages in a way that blurs their order, and the long final paragraph combines several steps without clear sentence boundaries. Grouping the process into the ascent and rainfall, followed by the dry air’s movement inland, and using more precise transitions would make the progression clearer.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “windward side,” “leeward side,” “moist air,” “clouds,” and “rain-shadow desert,” which helps communicate the diagram’s subject. There are also attempts at descriptive wording such as “linear process.” However, inaccurate word forms, spelling, and collocations sometimes make the description unclear: “gating cools,” “clouds get hevy,” and “continuesly goes down” do not express the intended stages naturally. “Mountain consists of several type” is also an imprecise choice for describing the diagram. Aim for accurate process verbs and standard collocations, such as “rises and cools,” “clouds become heavy,” and “dry air descends.” This would make your vocabulary more precise while retaining the useful technical terms you already use.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences with clauses, as in “when clouds gets rise up and clouds get hevy and make the rain falls.” This shows an effort to describe relationships between stages, but some sentence patterns are not controlled, and the reader has to work to interpret them. There are errors in subject–verb agreement and verb forms, for example “clouds gets” and “make the rain falls.” The opening of the main description, “Initially, mountain consists…,” also has problems with articles and sentence construction, while several clauses are joined without clear punctuation. Practise building accurate sentences around one main action at a time, then add a subordinate clause where useful. More reliable control of agreement, verb forms, and sentence boundaries would improve clarity.

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

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