Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-15

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 ilustrate show a Rain shadow deserts moist air passes over mountains range.

Overall, consist of seven stages Being, wind approach coast and ending a dry winds reach inland areas of rain shadow

Initially, wind approach sea coast are wind forced upward as they reached mountains As the moist air rises it become, cooler from the windware side the cloud produce the rain falls

After crossing the mountains peak thje now dry air continues leward side downward of the mountains Finally and last is dry winds reach inland areas over a distance of Thousands of kilometers of raun shadow deserts

Overall, the difference of windwar side is wet and rain fall leweard anside is dry and develope into a desert

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response attempts to describe the process of rain-shadow desert formation shown in the diagram, identifying key stages such as winds approaching the coast, rising over mountains, and resulting in rain on the windward side and a desert on the leeward side. However, the response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, containing only 121 words. Consequently, the development of the response is curtailed, and certain aspects of the diagram are only partially covered. Furthermore, numerous mechanical copying errors from the prompt and fragmented phrasing prevent a fully developed and coherent presentation of the data.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The text is divided into short paragraphs and attempts to use sequencing markers such as 'Initially', 'After crossing', and 'Finally'. However, the logical progression is frequently disrupted by broken sentences, missing grammatical links, and abrupt transitions. Paragraphing is attempted, but the structural cohesion is heavily flawed. For instance, the sentence 'Initially, wind approach sea coast are wind forced upward as they reached mountains As the moist air rises it become, cooler...' contains overlapping clauses and lacks clear referencing, making it difficult to follow the flow of information smoothly.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is very basic and heavily dependent on the words provided in the diagram prompt (e.g., 'coast', 'winds', 'mountains', 'moist air', 'rain-shadow desert'). There are frequent word-formation and spelling errors, such as 'ilustrate' instead of 'illustrate', 'windware' instead of 'windward', 'thje' instead of 'the', 'leward' instead of 'leeward', and 'windwar' instead of 'windward'. The range of vocabulary is limited, and these persistent inaccuracies cause some strain for the reader, restricting the score to Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.5

Grammatical control is weak throughout the response. There is a very limited range of structures, and almost every sentence contains noticeable errors. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('wind approach'), tense confusion ('wind ilustrate show'), and fragmented sentence structures ('Being, wind approach coast and ending a dry winds reach inland areas'). Punctuation is also misused or absent, with commas placed awkwardly and missing periods. These frequent errors cause significant difficulty for the reader and prevent the response from achieving a higher band.

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.