Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The diagram illustrates the process of rain shadow deserts step by step. There are 7 steps and each step describes the process.

First of all, the winds from the sea reaches the coastal area where winds are pushed upwards to the mountains then these winds get converted into moist air and this air rises above from the ea level and cools down while traveling uphill and then clouds are formed, at the top of the mountain the rain falls from these clouds, on the 6th step the dry air moves down from the hills and at the 7th step, it reaches the inland of rain shadow desert which is the end of the process.

Overall, the whole diagram explain the process throughly, starting from the sea winds to rain formation and ending at rain shadow desert, the winds cover thousands of kilmeters over the time with windward side and leeward sides.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student attempts to address the task by outlining the main steps in the formation of a rain-shadow desert, noting the transition from sea winds to inland arid conditions across thousands of kilometres. However, the response is presented as a single massive block of text with only two sentences, leading to underdeveloped ideas and a rushed overview. Key features such as the distinction between the windward and leeward sides of the mountain are only briefly touched upon at the very end rather than being integrated into a coherent summary of the geographical progression. While the sequence of steps is generally followed, the lack of careful selection and reporting of comparative spatial features keeps this performance at Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The text suffers significantly from a lack of paragraphing, appearing as one continuous wall of text that fails to separate the introduction and overview from the body details. Cohesive devices are weak, repetitive, and rely heavily on run-on structures linked by coordinating conjunctions like 'and then' and 'then'. For example, the sentence starting with 'First of all, the winds from the sea reaches...' continues on unchecked with multiple clauses strung together without proper punctuation or logical segmentation. While there is a basic chronological progression mirroring the diagram, the poor organizational framework and mechanical referencing result in a Band 4.5 score, which is rounded to a stable 5.0 for overall arrangement.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is largely basic and repetitive, employing common terms such as 'winds', 'sea', 'mountain', and 'air' repeatedly throughout the response. There are also noticeable lexical errors and awkward collocations, such as 'reaches the coastal area where winds are pushed upwards to the mountains' and 'above from the ea level' (typographical error for sea). The student attempts some less common vocabulary items like 'moist air', 'cools down', and 'rain-shadow desert', but the overall range remains limited and minimally adequate for the task. Vocabulary choice does not significantly impede basic comprehension, but lacks the precision expected for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple clauses strung together into long, comma-spliced run-on sentences. There are several grammatical errors present, including subject-verb agreement issues ('the winds... reaches') and awkward relative clauses. Punctuation is largely neglected, resulting in sentences that run on for too long without appropriate terminal punctuation or structural control. While the basic meaning of the process is communicated, the frequency of structural errors and the lack of complex sentence variety prevent the student from achieving a higher band score.

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

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