Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

This diagram shows how the rain-shadow desert is formed. when the moist air above the sea moves toward the coast, with the rise of the sea level winds moves upwards. As the wind travels thousands of kilometers towards the higher altitude gradually, it cools down. As the air was coming from the sea, it contains water in it. When this air goes toward higher altitude, due to low temperature at hight clouds are formed. Then these clouds rains at higher mountains.This was the windward side of the mountain. In the Leeward side of the mountain, The air after the rain becomes dry and moves downwards, which then moves towards the land from the mountain. This dry air reaches the inland areas, which creates the rain-shadow desert effect

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student covers the main stages of the rain-shadow desert formation process from the sea to the inland areas, mentioning the moist air, cooling, cloud formation, precipitation, and the dry air descending on the leeward side. However, the response fails to reach the required minimum word count of 150 words, stopping at only 127 words. This under-length restriction prevents full development of the visual information, such as the scale of thousands of kilometres or a more structured overview of the physical geography. Consequently, the task achievement is constrained to a band 5.5 due to the incomplete length and missing descriptive depth.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The text follows a sequential order mirroring the numbered stages in the diagram, beginning with the sea and winds moving toward the coast, and ending with the inland rain-shadow desert. However, the paragraphing is poor, as the entire response is compressed into a single block of text instead of distinct paragraphs for the introduction, windward side, and leeward side. Furthermore, cohesive devices are basic, and some transitions feel mechanical or abrupt, such as shifting suddenly between sentences without clear logical signposting. Referencing is sometimes unclear, which affects the overall progression.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student uses a minimally adequate range of vocabulary relevant to the diagram, successfully employing terms such as moist air, altitude, temperature, windward side, leeward side, and dry air. However, there are notable word choice and spelling inaccuracies, such as 'hight' instead of 'height' and 'rains' used as a verb incorrectly ('clouds rains'). The range of vocabulary remains limited and repetitive, lacking more sophisticated or precise lexical items to describe geographical processes effectively.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as using subordinate clauses beginning with 'when' and 'as'. However, control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are several punctuation and capitalization errors, such as starting sentences with lowercase letters ('when', 'In the Leeward'). Grammatical inaccuracies are frequent, including subject-verb agreement issues ('winds moves') and awkward phrasing ('As the air was coming from the sea, it contains water in it'). These errors cause some difficulty for the reader.

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