Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The given diagram illustrates the formation of rain-shadow deserts.

From an overall analysis, the process involves several interconnected steps, beginning with winds approach coast, followed by clouds formation and rainfalls. The final stage inclumy dry winds reach inland areas.

To expound the chart in detail, the winds approach from the coast and then winds pushed upwards in the direction of mountain's slope. Followed by, the moist air rises and cools in the windward side of the mountain. Afterwards, there are the formation of clouds after cooling of moist air and approaches rainfall at the peak of the mountain.

As further scrutiny reveals, after rainfalls the air become dry continues over the mountain in the leeward side. Furthermore, the dry winds reach inland areas on the land. In the last step involved, there is a accomulation of dust particles on the inland's surface and finally make rain-shadow desert.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response attempts to summarise the diagram illustrating the formation of rain-shadow deserts, covering the key sequential stages from winds approaching the coast to dry winds reaching inland areas. However, there is a minor hallucination or inaccurate addition in the final sentence where the student mentions an 'accomulation of dust particles,' which does not appear in the source diagram. Furthermore, the length requirement has not been met, as the text contains 147 words, falling short of the mandatory 150-word minimum. This results in a slight penalty, preventing the score from reaching Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, starting with an introductory sentence, followed by an overview, and then breaking down the process details. However, cohesion is frequently mechanical and flawed. For instance, transitional phrases such as 'From an overall analysis,' 'To expound the chart in detail,' and 'As further scrutiny reveals' feel unnatural and inappropriate for an academic Task 1 response. Referencing and cohesive flow are somewhat disrupted by ungrammatical transitions like 'Followed by, the moist air rises' and awkward sentence openings.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is generally basic and repetitive, with several lexical and spelling errors. For example, the student writes 'inclumy' instead of 'includes', 'accomulation' instead of 'accumulation', and uses awkward phrasing like 'clouds formation and rainfalls'. While the response attempts some topic-specific terminology such as 'moist air', 'windward side', and 'leeward side', the frequent word-choice errors and spelling mistakes restrict the lexical score to Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The text demonstrates a limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple or awkwardly constructed sentences. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the response, such as 'beginning with winds approach coast' (missing relative pronoun or participle), 'winds pushed upwards' (missing auxiliary verb), and 'the air become dry continues over the mountain'. These errors cause noticeable difficulty for the reader and reflect a weak control over complex structures and verb forms.

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

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