Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The diagram showed how rain-shadow desert were formed far thousands of kilometer from the sea coast.

Overall, the diagram shows 7 stages from winds approaces the coast to the last stage when dry winds reaches the inland areas and Rain-shadow desert were formed.

In the first step, the winds approaches the coast from the sea level and moved in upwards directions towards the windward side. Due to which the moist air increased in the atmosphere and cooled the temperature.

In addition, when the atmosphere cooled down it caused cloud to formed and rained in windward side. After rainfall the air became dry and the dry airs continued toward Leeward side after rain fall and in the last dry wind which came from over the mountains reached to inland areas and formed a Rain-shadow desert from thouasnd of kilometers

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student successfully identifies the main features of the rain-shadow desert formation process, covering the 7 distinct stages from the winds approaching the coast to the creation of the desert over thousands of kilometres. However, the response falls short of the word count requirement, containing only 138 words instead of the minimum 150 words. This under-length impacts the overall development and completeness of the task response, placing it firmly in the lower-middle bands.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The text is organized into four paragraphs, including an introduction and a clear overview of the 7 stages. Progression is generally logical, moving sequentially from the coast through the mountain stages to the inland desert. However, cohesive devices are somewhat repetitive and mechanical (e.g., 'In the first step', 'In addition', 'after rain fall and in the last'). Paragraphing is attempted, but the grouping of ideas could be more balanced and sophisticated to improve overall flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for describing a geographical process, including appropriate terms like 'coast', 'windward side', 'moist air', 'leeward side', and 'inland areas'. However, there are notable word-form and spelling errors such as 'approaces' instead of 'approaches', 'thouasnd' instead of 'thousand', and awkward phrasing like 'far thousands of kilometer'. The range is somewhat limited and repetitive, preventing the score from reaching higher levels.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as relative clauses and conditional-like temporal sequences ('when the atmosphere cooled down it caused cloud to formed'). There are several grammatical errors throughout the text, including tense inconsistency ('The diagram showed' versus 'the diagram shows'), missing pluralization ('desert were formed', 'cloud to formed', 'dry airs'), and faulty verb forms ('wind which came from over the mountains reached'). These errors occasionally cause mild disruption to the reading.

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

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