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 figure below illustrates the formation of particular desert named as rain-forest desert.

Overall, a rain-shadow desert is formed after the winds approaching the coast, undergo a number of steps before eventually reaching the inland areas thus forming the such desert.

The formation of rain-shadow desert is a seven step process, in the first step the winds reach the coastal area around the mountains. These winds than pushed upwards in the second step. The third step involves moist air rising from the windward side of the mountain and resulting in a cooling effect. In the next step the winds become cooler as they reach the higher altitude and clouds are formed consequently.

Rain then falls from these clouds in the next step while the dry air continues to move over the mountain from the leeward side. In the last step these dry winds arrive at the inland areas thus resulting in the formation rain-shadow desert.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student addresses the overall task by summarising the seven-step process shown in the diagram regarding the formation of rain-shadow deserts. However, there are factual inaccuracies in the writing, most notably referring to the subject as a 'rain-forest desert' instead of a 'rain-shadow desert' in the opening sentence. Furthermore, the description overly relies on a mechanical listing of the steps ('in the first step', 'in the second step', 'the third step') rather than synthesising the information into a more cohesive overview of the physical process. While all main stages from winds approaching the coast to reaching inland areas are mentioned, the lack of precise data integration and the terminology slip pull this down to a band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is arranged with an introduction, a body paragraph, and a concluding sentence, providing a basic overall structure. Progression is attempted through chronological sequencing, but the overuse of mechanical transition phrases ('in the first step', 'in the second step', 'The third step involves', 'In the next step') makes the cohesion repetitive and somewhat rigid. Paragraphing is also under-utilised, as the entire core process is lumped into a single dense body paragraph rather than being broken down logically by stages (such as the windward side versus the leeward side). Referencing is generally clear, but the lack of flexible cohesive devices places this at a band 5.5.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The lexical range is adequate for the task, attempting vocabulary relevant to a geographical process such as 'moist air', 'altitude', 'coastal area', and 'inland areas'. However, there is a notable vocabulary error in the opening sentence where the student writes 'rain-forest desert' instead of 'rain-shadow desert'. Other expressions are basic or slightly awkward, such as 'forming the such desert'. While less common vocabulary is attempted, word choice and collocation inaccuracies prevent the response from achieving a higher band, resulting in a score of 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'Overall, a rain-shadow desert is formed after the winds approaching the coast, undergo a number of steps...' which unfortunately contains an unnecessary comma and minor agreement issues. There are several grammatical errors throughout the text, including 'These winds than pushed upwards' (missing auxiliary verb and incorrect spelling of 'then'), and 'resulting in the formation rain-shadow desert' (missing preposition 'of' or article 'a'). Although these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur with enough frequency to restrict the score to a 5.0.

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

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