Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-16

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 given picture describes the formation of a rain-shadow desert through a number of processes.

Firstly the wind blows from the sea and approaches the coastal area near it. Further the air goes upward, from coast towards the top of the mountain. When the wind reaches at the centre of hills the moist air becomes cool and travel upside to form clouds. After the formation of the clouds the rainfall starts at the peak of mountains and dry air moves from top of hills towards the leeward side of hills.

The inland area lies at the bottom of mountains. Dry air travels from leeward side and reaches at the inland. Due to the movement of dry wind rain-shadow desert formed in the inland.

Overall, multiple steps are involved in the formation of rain-shadow desert. These types of deserts are formed due to the movement of wind from sea towards coastal areas and then this air travel towards the top of mountains. After covering the distance of thousand kilometres the wind reaches at the inland and form rain-shadow desert.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by outlining the main features of the rain-shadow desert formation process, moving from the sea across the coastal area, mountains, and leeward side to the inland desert. The overall trend and stages are accurately reported, referencing key elements like moist air cooling, clouds forming, rain falling, and dry air crossing the mountain. However, the response tends to be slightly descriptive rather than fully analytical or comparative in places, and some mechanical details from the diagram (such as the windward/leeward distinction by name) are slightly under-developed. Nevertheless, the main features are clearly covered, satisfying the requirements for a Band 6.5 or 6.0 level of task response. Overall, the information is accurately extracted from the visual data without major omissions.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organized into three paragraphs, including an introduction, a body paragraph detailing the process steps, and a concluding summary. The progression of ideas generally follows the chronological and spatial sequence of the diagram, using transitional markers such as 'Firstly', 'Further', and 'After the formation of the clouds'. However, referencing and cohesion can be somewhat mechanical or repetitive (e.g., repeating 'hills' and 'dry air'). Paragraphing is used sufficiently to structure the overview and body details, but the logical flow between sentences occasionally feels abrupt. This places the performance firmly in the Band 6 category, where the arrangement is coherent overall, but cohesion devices show some mechanical tendencies.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully incorporating topic-specific terms such as 'coastal area', 'moist air', 'rain-shadow desert', and 'leeward side'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are noticeable instances of awkward word choice and phrasing, such as 'the air goes upward' instead of 'rises', 'travel upside' instead of 'upwards', and 'rain-shadow desert formed' missing a passive auxiliary verb ('is formed'). Less common vocabulary is attempted with mixed accuracy. While communication is not impeded, these lexical limitations and occasional word-formation errors prevent the response from achieving a higher band, making Band 6 an appropriate assessment.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and temporal transition clauses (e.g., 'When the wind reaches at the centre of hills...'). However, grammatical errors are frequent throughout the text, including missing prepositions or incorrect prepositions ('reaches at the centre'), missing articles ('rain-shadow desert formed'), and tense inconsistencies or awkward verb forms ('air travel towards'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but grammatical slips in almost every sentence indicate that simple structures are handled better than complex ones. Because these errors rarely impede communication but persist across the text, a Band 6 score is fully justified.

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

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