Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-12

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 digram illustrates the process of how a rain-shadow desert develops.

Overall, the given diagram shows several steps which are involve in the development of rain-shadow desert. The process start from winds approch coast and end with the rain-shadow desert. there are following steps that are involve in this process: winds approch coast, winds pushed upward, moist air rises and cools, rain fall, dry air continues over mountain, dry winds reach inland areas.

The process involve many steps, first of start with the winds approach coast to sea then this wind is pushed upward direction towards mountains. After that winds approch the moisture present in air moist air rises and then coools in the atmosphere, this makes clouds in windward side of atmosphere.

The next step is raining clouds falls towards earth. After that rain reaches the mountain and the earth. After that dry air continues over mountain on leeward side of mountain.Afther this step te dry winds reach inland areas and this land is then formd in form desret which is known as rain-shawdow desert.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the diagram as a process and include several central stages, including upward movement, cooling, cloud formation, rainfall and dry air reaching inland areas. However, the account is only partly accurate and the overview is not sufficiently clear: it says the process ends with the desert, but does not explain the key contrast between rain on the windward side and dry conditions beyond the mountains. The sequence also omits the explicit stage of clouds forming from the overview list, and “rain reaches the mountain and the earth” misrepresents the diagram, which shows rain falling on the windward side. Explain how the air loses moisture before continuing over the leeward side, and summarise that this creates a desert inland.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable paragraph structure: an introduction, an overview and two paragraphs describing stages. The sequence is generally understandable, and transitions such as “After that” and “The next step” help the reader follow the process. However, these linking phrases are repeated mechanically, and the overview’s list of stages interrupts rather than summarises the process. Some connections are unclear, particularly “After that rain reaches the mountain and the earth,” followed by the dry-air stage. Improve progression by grouping the stages into a clear cause-and-effect sequence and using more precise references, such as “Once precipitation has fallen on the windward side, the remaining dry air crosses the mountain.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “moist air,” “clouds,” “windward side,” “leeward side” and “inland areas,” so the topic is recognisable. However, the range is limited and several word-choice or spelling problems make parts of the description difficult to interpret: “approch the moisture present in air” does not clearly express that the air contains moisture, while “raining clouds falls” is an awkward description of precipitation. There are also repeated misspellings such as “digram,” “coools,” “desret” and “rain-shawdow.” Use accurate process terms consistently, and check spelling carefully; this would make the account clearer and more precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including a sequence with “After that” and “then,” but control is inconsistent. Errors in verb forms and agreement occur in examples such as “the process start,” “steps which are involve,” and “raining clouds falls.” Sentence construction is also faulty in “The process involve many steps, first of start with the winds,” and punctuation is missing between sentences in “mountain.Afther.” These problems sometimes make the relationships between stages difficult to follow. Practise forming complete clauses with a clear subject and verb, for example, “The process begins when winds approach the coast,” and check agreement, articles and sentence boundaries before finishing.

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