Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-12

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 4.5)

Deserts have variours types.The rain-shadow desert is one of them.It is formed by mountains where are located between sea and inland.The distance between each side of montain should be thousands of kilometers. The process starts by winds keep moving upwards until it reaches windraw side.As a consequences,the air is moist and clouds begin forming.After rains falls ,the dry air is formed and continues to move over the leedward side of the mountain.When the dry winds reache inland area the rain-shadow desert is formed.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, containing only 83 words. Consequently, the description of the rain-shadow desert formation process is severely underdeveloped. While the student attempts to outline the main steps—such as winds moving up the windward side, cloud formation, precipitation, and dry air descending on the leeward side—the overview is too brief and lacks the detail required for a complete task response. Key features are mentioned superficially, leading to a low band score under Task Achievement due to the strict under-length penalty.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.5

The writing lacks proper paragraphing, presented as a single short block of text. There are basic transitional devices used, such as 'As a consequence' and 'After', but overall progression is hindered by the extreme brevity and missing punctuation spaces (e.g., 'types.The', 'desert.It'). Cohesive devices are minimal and mechanical, and referencing is sometimes confusing. Although the sequence of the diagram is followed chronologically, the lack of structured paragraphs and weak cohesion pull this criterion down to the lower intermediate level.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, with several instances of awkward word choices and spelling issues, such as 'variours' instead of 'various', 'windraw' instead of 'windward', and 'leedward' instead of 'leeward'. Words like 'move', 'formed', and 'side' are repeated frequently throughout the short text. While the student attempts topic-specific terms like 'moist', 'clouds', and 'dry winds', the limited range and noticeable errors in word formation and spelling restrict the lexical score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response relies heavily on simple and basic complex sentence structures, many of which contain grammatical errors. Examples include 'mountains where are located' (incorrect relative clause), 'winds keep moving' (tense/agreement inconsistency), and 'When the dry winds reache' (spelling and article omission). Punctuation and spacing issues are frequent throughout the text, such as missing spaces after periods and commas. While the reader can generally follow the intended meaning, the density of grammatical slips keeps this criterion at a modest level.

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

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