Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-14

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 daigram reveals, the formation of rain-shadow deserts.

Intially, in the first stage winds started approach coast from the sea. the winds pushed the water of the sea in upward direction of the mountains. the winds started to move up to windward side. In the middle of mountains air rises and cools then the formation of clouds is started. After that in the fifth stage rain falls.

Following this, dry air continues over mountains in the direction of leeward side. at the end of process that dry winds reach inland areas and rain-shdow desert created. in this process mountains is coverd thousands of kilometers.

To sum up, the process of the formation of rain-shadow deserts take time and it is process of seven stages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.5

The response attempts to summarize the formation of rain-shadow deserts as shown in the diagram, touching upon key stages such as winds approaching from the sea, cloud formation, precipitation, and dry air reaching the leeward side. However, the text falls significantly short of the 150-word minimum, containing only 124 words. This under-length issue heavily restricts the development of the main features and leads to an incomplete overview. Furthermore, the description contains inaccuracies and oversimplifications, such as stating that 'mountains is coverd thousands of kilometers' instead of referring to elevation or geographical span. Because the word count requirement is not met and the information is only partially developed, the task achievement score is limited to a band 4.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The text attempts a logical chronological progression by organizing the stages from the initial winds to the final desert creation, using sequencing markers like 'Intially', 'After that', 'Following this', and 'at the end of process'. However, paragraphing is poorly handled, with a very fragmented structure where most sentences stand alone or form very weak paragraphs. Cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or inaccurate, such as missing articles and poor punctuation leading to run-on thoughts. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, as seen in phrases like 'at the end of process that dry winds reach inland areas'. Overall, the organization shows some basic sequencing but lacks cohesive sophistication and effective paragraphing, fitting the descriptors for a band 5.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, frequently reusing terms like 'winds', 'mountains', 'sea', and 'process'. There are several noticeable word choice and collocation issues, such as 'winds started approach coast' instead of 'winds approach the coast', and 'rain-shdow desert created' instead of 'formed'. The student attempts some topic-specific vocabulary like 'windward side', 'leeward side', and 'dry air', which demonstrates a minimal understanding of the prompt. However, spelling mistakes ('daigram', 'Intially', 'coverd', 'shdow') and limited lexical flexibility restrict the range. The vocabulary is minimally adequate for the task, corresponding to a band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.5

The response displays a very limited range of sentence structures, relying mostly on simple sentences with frequent structural errors. There are numerous grammatical inaccuracies, including missing prepositions and articles (e.g., 'approach coast from the sea'), incorrect verb forms ('winds started approach', 'formation of clouds is started'), and subject-verb agreement errors ('mountains is coverd'). Punctuation is also problematic, with lower-case letters at the beginning of sentences after periods (e.g., 'the winds pushed', 'at the end'). While some simple sentences are correct and meaning is generally retrievable, the frequent errors and lack of control over complex structures place this firmly at a band 4.5.

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

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