Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-18

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 illustrate the process of rain shadow deserts formation into seven major steps.

Overall, cool wind carried from sea which hit by natural barrier called mountain. On mountain peak, wind form cloud and rain fall on slope of hill. Due to rain, dry air reached on inland. All this process consists of thousands of kilometres.

In the beginning, wind carried the moisture core from sea and move toward inland area. When winds reached at some distance they hit by natural barrier a mountain which helps winds to move up direction. When winds reached on windward side area they form cloud after formation with cools wind. After that, rain fall on wind side and dry air produced which move opposite side of mountain peak.

After releasing moisture, dry air surge down in the direction of leeward side. After continous down direction they touched with inland and start to move vertical way. When they move this direction they make rain shadow desert inside the inland.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student successfully identifies the main stages of the rain-shadow desert formation, covering the progression from moist winds approaching the coast, rising over mountains, producing precipitation, and finally descending as dry air onto the leeward side to form a desert. An overview is attempted in the second paragraph, though it contains some awkward phrasing. While all key steps from the diagram are mentioned, some details are slightly confused or imprecise, such as 'wind form cloud and rain fall on slope of hill' and 'dry air reached on inland'. Nevertheless, the main features of the process are reported adequately, fulfilling the requirements for Task 1 at a competent level.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is structured into four paragraphs, providing a coherent overall arrangement. Progression is attempted, but cohesive devices are often mechanical, repetitive, or inaccurate, such as overusing phrases like 'After that', 'After releasing', and 'After continous down direction'. Paragraphing is present, but grouping ideas could be managed more logically (for instance, the overview mixes introductory statements with specific steps). Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as 'All this process consists of thousands of kilometres', which detracts from smooth flow. Overall, the writing shows basic organizational structure but lacks sophisticated cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, but contains numerous noticeable errors in word choice and form, such as 'illustrate' instead of 'illustrates', 'wind carried from sea' instead of 'winds coming from the sea', and 'up direction' instead of 'upward direction'. There are also awkward collocations like 'moisture core'. Less common lexical items are attempted ('natural barrier', 'leeward side', 'precipitation'), but their control is inconsistent. Spelling is generally acceptable, but frequent word-formation errors limit the score to a 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response exhibits a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple sentences and faulty attempts at complex clauses. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout, including subject-verb agreement issues ('The diagram illustrate'), missing articles ('from sea', 'called mountain', 'on inland'), and incorrect prepositions ('reached at some distance', 'move opposite side'). Verb tense and voice control are also weak ('wind carried', 'wind form cloud'). While communication is not entirely impeded, the high frequency of basic structural errors keeps this criterion at a band 5.0.

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.