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 figure below illustrates that how rain-shadow desert is formed by a thousand kilometres distant sea breeze.

overall, current from the sea approaches coast area and go in upward orientation where it turned into cool air, form clouds. then shifted into rain but the air keep heading towards inland areas to form rain-shadow desert. At first,the sea breezes reached to a coast just below the mountain and started moving in the upward direction to the mountain, where the moist breeze started getting cool due to low temperature above sea level, moving on the windward side and then transformed into clouds. After that rain falls on the top the mountain.

But the unmoist air consistantly moving through the mountain towards the leeward side it continued its motion until it reaches the inland regions, where it invaded in inland areas and it caused rain there and after that the rain-shadow desert being developed.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response attempts to describe the formation of a rain-shadow desert, covering most of the main stages outlined in the diagram, such as sea breezes approaching the coast, rising and cooling over the mountain, forming clouds and rain, and dry air continuing towards inland regions. However, the explanation is slightly confused in places, particularly regarding the sequence of precipitation and dry air movement. For instance, the text states 'it caused rain there and after that the rain-shadow desert being developed,' which misinterprets the final stage where rain does not fall inland. Furthermore, the overview is rather weak and poorly integrated. While the core process is identified, the lack of precision in reporting data and a slight misunderstanding of the final stage places this at Band 5.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The text suffers from poor paragraphing and punctuation control. It is structured into a brief introduction and two dense blocks of text that lack clear separation between the overall summary and the detailed stages. Cohesive devices are minimal and sometimes inaccurate, such as starting sentences with lowercase letters ('overall,', 'At first,', 'But the unmoist air') and relying on basic sequencing words like 'then', 'After that', and 'But'. The logical progression is somewhat disrupted by run-on sentences and a lack of clear demarcation between the windward and leeward sides of the mountain. Overall organization is present, but cohesion is mechanical and faulty, fitting the Band 5 descriptors well.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is a mix of adequate and inappropriate terms. The student attempts some less common vocabulary such as 'orientation', 'unmoist air', 'consistantly', and 'invaded', but these often demonstrate poor collocation or lexical inaccuracy (e.g., 'unmoist air' instead of 'dry air', and 'invaded in inland areas'). Word choice errors occur frequently, such as 'current from the sea' instead of 'sea breeze' or 'moist air'. Spelling errors like 'consistantly' also detract from the quality. However, the vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the basic topic, earning a Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The grammatical range is limited, relying heavily on simple and overly complex, fault-ridden structures. There are major grammatical inaccuracies throughout the text, including tense consistency issues ('current... approaches... and go... where it turned') and structural errors like 'The figure below illustrates that how rain-shadow desert is formed'. Prepositional errors are common ('approaches coast area', 'invaded in inland areas'), and punctuation is weak, with multiple run-on sentences joined without proper conjunctions or full stops. These frequent errors cause difficulty for the reader and reflect a Band 5 level of control.

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

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