Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-13

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 diagram illustrates the formation of rain shadow desert .

Overall, This process involves 7 stages that begin with approaching of wind at the coast and culminates in wind reached inland areas .

On the sea , around the mountains wind approach at the coast level and it start moving upward with this moist air start rising and getting cools and passing through the windward side and resulted in the formation of clouds . When they reach the top of mounts the clouds burst and rainfall started .

After raining, the air started to blow over mountains and the subsequent step include that is passed through leeward side and this bring the change and dry air reached towards inland areas after that it captured the air inside it and the rain shadow desert is formed . The distance considered between coast and shadow desert is about thousand of kilometers .

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 air at the coast to the final arid conditions inland. However, the description is somewhat superficial. For example, the explanation of the 'leeward side' and the transition to a desert is a bit vague, and the mention of '7 stages' is not clearly reflected in the structure of the text. While the main features are identified, the comparison between the windward and leeward sides could be more explicitly contrasted to better highlight the mechanism of the rain shadow effect.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is organized into three short paragraphs, which is a basic structure. However, the logical flow is often interrupted by awkward phrasing and repetitive transitions like 'after that' and 'and then'. The use of cohesive devices is mechanical and sometimes inaccurate, such as the phrase 'the subsequent step include that is passed through'. Paragraphing is present but the internal progression of ideas within the paragraphs feels disjointed, making it difficult for the reader to follow the scientific process smoothly.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is limited and repetitive. The student relies on basic terms like 'mountains', 'air', and 'wind', and struggles with accurate collocations. There are several instances of word-choice errors, such as 'mounts' instead of 'mountains' and 'getting cools' instead of 'cools down'. The phrasing 'clouds burst' is informal for an academic report. To reach a higher band, the student needs to use more precise scientific terminology related to meteorology and geography, such as 'precipitation', 'moisture-laden', 'arid', and 'elevation'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. There are consistent issues with subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'wind approach', 'air started to blow'), article usage (e.g., 'on the sea', 'at the coast'), and tense consistency. The sentence structures are mostly simple or contain errors when attempting complexity, such as 'the subsequent step include that is passed through leeward side'. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with unnecessary spaces before periods. A wider range of error-free complex structures is required for a higher score.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.