Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-08

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 diagram illustrates the process of how the particular type of dessert has been formed. which is known as rain-shadow dessert. At a glance, in the sea side, there is a decent humidity in air. But on the other side, the winds are become totally dry.

At first, winds approaches the coastline of the sea. Then, winds are pushed up from where the mountain is starting. Thirdly, the humid air rises and cools down which forms clouds. After that, the rain falls from the clouds on the same side of sea. As the rain falls in left hand side, the right hand side are not having an air with moisture. As a result, dry air continues over mountains and flows in the right hand side. Lastly, when the dry winds reach to inland areas it creates a rain-shadow dessert.

To sum up, the distance between sea and rain-shadow dessert is thousands of kilometres but It still play a crucial role in the formation of rain-shadow dessert.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main stages of the rain-shadow desert formation process, from the initial moisture-laden winds at the coastline to the final dry conditions inland. However, the summary is somewhat simplistic and lacks a clear overview of the process as a whole. While the key features are identified, the description of the mountain's role and the resulting climate contrast could be more precisely articulated. The inclusion of the term 'dessert' (a sweet dish) instead of 'desert' (a dry region) throughout the text is a significant error that affects the clarity of the task response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organised into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the sequence of events. The use of cohesive devices such as 'At first', 'Then', 'Thirdly', 'After that', and 'As a result' provides a clear, albeit somewhat mechanical, structure. However, the referencing is occasionally imprecise, such as in the phrase 'the right hand side are not having an air with moisture', which makes the flow slightly awkward. Overall, the information is arranged coherently, but the transitions could be more sophisticated to improve the flow between sentences.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but there are persistent errors that impede communication. The most notable issue is the repeated misspelling of 'desert' as 'dessert', which changes the meaning of the entire essay. Other phrasing, such as 'decent humidity in air' and 'winds are become totally dry', shows a limited range and some awkward collocations. To reach a higher band, you should focus on using more precise scientific terminology related to meteorology and ensure correct spelling of key subject-specific terms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Examples include 'winds are become totally dry' (incorrect verb tense), 'the right hand side are not having' (subject-verb agreement error), and 'when the dry winds reach to inland areas' (unnecessary preposition). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the use of full stops in the middle of sentences. While these errors do not completely prevent understanding, they occur frequently enough to impact the overall quality of the writing.

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

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