Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-20

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 illustrates the formation of a type of desert called rain-shadow desert. Overall, there has been several stages, beginning with winds approach to coastal area and end with the dry winds reaches to the inland areas and formed rain-shadow desert.

To begin with, the flow of wind approached to the top of the sea near coastal areas from which the winds is being pushed from lower point into the upward direction. After the wind start moving in upward direction, it reached to the windward side of the mountain where the moist air rises and then it gets cool. Following this, the wind is now converted into clouds at the higest peak of the mountain. Furthermore, after the coulds becomes dark it start raining and falling on to the mountain, meanwhile the dry air continued to pass over the mountain.

Now this dry air passes in the downward direction through leeward side of the mountain before reaches to the land. Eventually, the dry winds reach to the inland areas and formed the rain-shadow desert. In addition, the distance between costal area of the sea and the rain shadow desert is around thousands of kilometres.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by outlining the main stages in the formation of a rain-shadow desert, from the approach of winds from the sea to the creation of the desert inland. An overview is attempted in the introduction, noting that there are several stages beginning with winds approaching the coast and ending with dry winds reaching inland areas. Key features such as the windward side, moist air cooling, cloud formation, precipitation, and the leeward side are identified and reported in logical sequence. However, some descriptions are slightly repetitive or lack precise detail, such as the scale reference of thousands of kilometres which is only mentioned briefly at the very end. Overall, the response meets the core requirements of Task Achievement, aligning well with a Band 6.0 descriptor as it covers all parts of the visual data adequately despite some minor under-development.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is arranged logically with an introduction and three body paragraphs that mirror the sequential flow of the diagram. Cohesive devices are employed to guide the reader through the stages, such as 'To begin with', 'Following this', 'Furthermore', and 'Eventually'. However, cohesion can feel somewhat mechanical or faulty in places due to awkward phrasing and referencing issues, for example, 'After the wind start moving' and 'Now this dry air passes'. Paragraphing is used, but the overall progression is occasionally hindered by clunky transitions between sentences. This performance fits the Band 6 descriptor, where the overall arrangement is coherent, but referencing and cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or inaccurate.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting subject-specific terms such as 'rain-shadow desert', 'windward side', 'leeward side', and 'inland areas'. However, there are noticeable word choice errors and incorrect word forms throughout the text, such as 'winds approach to coastal area' instead of 'winds approaching coastal areas', 'higest' (spelling error for 'highest'), 'coulds' (spelling error for 'clouds'), and 'costal' instead of 'coastal'. These errors do not seriously impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score. This matches the Band 5.5 to 6.0 range, where an adequate vocabulary is used with some inaccuracy and spelling errors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and time conjunctions. However, grammatical accuracy is weak, featuring frequent errors in verb tense, subject-verb agreement, and prepositions. Examples include 'there has been several stages' (plural agreement error), 'winds approach to coastal area', 'the winds is being pushed', 'After the wind start moving', and 'before reaches to the land'. While these errors rarely completely obscure the meaning, they occur frequently and prevent the writing from achieving a higher band. This represents a solid Band 5.0, characterized by a limited range of structures and frequent grammatical errors that can cause some difficulty for the reader.

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

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