Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-11

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 diagram of rain-shadow desert shows a brief mechanism of formation of rain.

Overall, it looks complex process and also explain how wind approach coastal areas and through series of steps turn into rain.

Initially, after wind approaching the coastal areas from the surface of sea then pushes that wind upward across the the mountains in deserts. It mix with the moist air and cools down that leads to the cloud formation. At the top of mountain, wind blow at the windward side that falls down in the form of rain droplets. Afterwards, dry air continues over mountain at the leeward side and lastly, reached at the inland areas that termed as rain-shadow desert. Basically, this all happened over the mountain that is thousands of kilometers high from the ground.

In conclusion, this procedure occur through step by step and it is also time consuming along with productive impact on surface.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the task by describing the formation of a rain-shadow desert. However, the summary is somewhat superficial. While the main features are identified, the description of the process is occasionally inaccurate or confusing, such as the claim that the process is 'time consuming' or has a 'productive impact,' which are not supported by the diagram. The overview is also quite weak, failing to clearly synthesize the main stages of the process. To improve, focus on accurately reporting the physical stages—moist air rising, cooling, precipitation, and the resulting dry air—without adding external, unsupported commentary.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organized into an introduction, a body paragraph, and a conclusion. However, the progression of ideas is sometimes disjointed. While some cohesive devices are used (e.g., 'Initially', 'Afterwards', 'In conclusion'), the logical flow between sentences is occasionally hindered by awkward phrasing. For example, the transition from the description of the mountain to the conclusion is abrupt. Paragraphing is present, but the body paragraph is quite dense and would benefit from being split or more clearly structured to separate the windward and leeward stages of the process.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision required for a higher band. There are some inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'brief mechanism' and 'approaching the coastal areas from the surface of sea'. The use of 'termed as' and 'productive impact' is slightly unnatural in this context. To achieve a higher score, you should use more precise scientific terminology related to geography and meteorology, such as 'prevailing winds', 'condensation', 'precipitation', and 'arid conditions', rather than relying on general-purpose language.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Issues include missing articles ('across the the mountains'), incorrect verb forms ('wind blow', 'procedure occur'), and awkward phrasing ('that termed as'). Punctuation is generally functional, but the sentence construction often feels repetitive or grammatically incomplete. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles, and try to vary your sentence structures by using more complex clauses to describe the causal relationships in the diagram.

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

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