Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-19

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 4.5)

The diagram consist seven stage process how rain-shadow desert formed.

overall it can be seen that wind contain moist at start and aproach to cost then wind pushed themsel upward and and become cloude then its become rain and furthermore dry wind rech on the other side of mountain and this is how desert formed.

intitially at first stage wind contain mosit when aproach to cost and wind push mosit air to upward and when in third stage air rise and reach at cool environment air covert and clouds form then in fifth stage it become rain after that air lost their maximum of mositure then dry air countinues over mountain to leaward side .

in the next and final stage wind reach at inland are in dry form and rain-shadow desert fomed.that how complete all the process start rom sea side mositure air to change forms and reching at inland .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student attempts to describe the seven-stage process of rain-shadow desert formation, covering the main progression from winds approaching the coast to dry winds reaching inland areas. However, the response suffers from significant weaknesses in task completion. There is no clear overview provided to summarise the overall mechanism, and the description relies on run-on sentences and listing stages mechanically rather than structuring the information logically. Important spatial relationships, such as the windward and leeward sides of the mountains, are only partially and confusingly described ('other side of mountain', 'leaward side'). While all main stages are touched upon, the lack of a proper overview and underdeveloped reporting of key features limits the score to Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0

The response is organized into a single block of text with very poor paragraphing and a lack of proper punctuation. Sentences run into one another using lowercase letters at the start of sentences ('overall it can be seen', 'intitially at first stage'), making the text difficult to parse. Cohesive devices are extremely basic and repetitive ('then', 'after that', 'in the next and final stage'). There is no clear logical progression or effective referencing; pronouns such as 'them' and 'its' are used ambiguously. Overall, the organization is faulty and mechanical, aligning closely with Band 4.0 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 4.0

The student uses a very limited and repetitive vocabulary range, with frequent spelling errors ('consist' instead of 'consists', 'aproach' to 'approach', 'cost' instead of 'coast', 'mosit' / 'mositure' instead of 'moist' / 'moisture', 'cloude' instead of 'cloud', 'intitially' instead of 'initially', 'leaward' instead of 'leeward', 'fomed' instead of 'formed', 'reching' instead of 'reaching'). While the student attempts subject-specific terms such as 'moist air', 'desert', and 'wind', the persistent spelling and word-formation errors strain the reader and impede clear communication. This reflects a Band 4.0 lexical performance.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0

The grammatical range is severely restricted. The student relies entirely on simple sentences joined haphazardly by coordinating conjunctions or run-on punctuation. There is a total absence of accurate complex structures. Grammatical errors are pervasive throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('The diagram consist seven stage'), missing auxiliary verbs, incorrect prepositions, and non-existent capitalization or sentence boundaries. The frequency of errors causes continuous difficulty for the reader, placing the response firmly at Band 4.0.

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

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