Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The given liner process demonstrates the details about the formation of rain-shadow deserts..

Looking from an overall persective, it can be witnessed that the whole process is divided into 7 stages, commencing with the winds approach coast and ending at the dry winds. Omission of a single step to holt the whole process.

To commence with, after analysing the chart, it can be clearly seen that the first step is starting the winds on the sea and winds pushed up side of the mountain. In the next step, moist air and cools are converted into clouds form for rain fall on the mountain.

Focusing on the remained process, the process of rain falls are drying and fall down mountain. In the seventh process, the air is dry again winds and reach on the inland. Finally, the distance of sea and rain-shadow desert around thounand of kilometres.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the process as having seven stages and attempt to describe its beginning and end, which shows a basic understanding of the diagram. However, the account is only partial and several key stages are unclear or inaccurately reported. For example, the diagram shows moist air rising and cooling, clouds forming, and rain falling on the windward side; the response compresses these into “moist air and cools are converted into clouds” and later says rain is “drying and fall down mountain.” The overview also says the process ends “at the dry winds,” rather than explaining that dry winds travel inland and create the rain-shadow desert. The response is four words below the required minimum. Include the full sequence and a clear overview of how the mountain creates a dry inland area.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is a basic attempt to organise the response into an introduction, an overview, and descriptions of the earlier and later stages. Sequencing phrases such as “To commence with,” “In the next step,” and “Finally” help signal movement through the process. However, progression is not consistently clear because stages are combined or repeated, and some references are difficult to follow. For instance, “Focusing on the remained process” does not clearly identify which stages are being discussed, while “the process of rain falls are drying and fall down mountain” leaves the relationship between rainfall and the later dry air unclear. The overview’s sentence about omitting a step also interrupts the explanation. Use one paragraph for the overview and separate paragraphs for the sequence, linking each stage explicitly to the next.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses some relevant process vocabulary, including “winds,” “moist air,” “clouds,” “mountain,” and “inland,” so the topic is generally recognisable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations make the description difficult to understand. Phrases such as “liner process,” “winds approach coast,” “converted into clouds form,” and “rain falls are drying” are not natural or precise descriptions of the diagram. There are also spelling errors, including “persective,” “holt,” and “thounand.” Aim to use accurate process terms and standard collocations, such as “the process begins,” “air rises and cools,” and “rain falls on the windward slope.” This would make the stages clearer without requiring unnecessarily complex vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a few longer sentence forms, including “Looking from an overall perspective…” and “In the next step…,” but most sentences rely on simple patterns, and errors are frequent enough to obscure some relationships. Examples include “the winds approach coast,” “moist air and cools are converted,” and “the air is dry again winds and reach on the inland,” where verb forms, sentence structure, and grammatical connections are faulty. The sentence “Omission of a single step to holt the whole process” is also incomplete and does not express a clear grammatical idea. Punctuation is inconsistent, including the doubled full stop after the opening sentence. Practise writing complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and use consistent present-tense forms to describe each stage.

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