Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-22

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 illustrates the formation of rain-shadow desert. Overall, the process of forming desert are divided into seven stages, which is carried out by changes in weather through wind, air, clouds and rain.

Initally, at lower level of sea area winds blow towards coast pushing in upwards direction. As the direction if the wind reach up, they become mosit leading the air to be cooler at the windward side. These moist air further get colleted and form clouds.

Once the clouds are formed at the highest point of the mountain, moist area get accumulated in the cloudsr leading to rainfalls. During, this period dry air continues to flow downward on the othe side of the mountain. As the dry air travel towards the leewardside they reach inland downwards at the ground level ,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student attempts to summarise the diagram illustrating the formation of rain-shadow deserts, outlining the main stages from winds approaching the coast to dry winds reaching inland areas. An overview is provided in the introduction. However, the response falls significantly short of the required 150-word minimum, containing only 133 words. This under-length impacts the full development of the information. Additionally, the response cuts off abruptly at the end before fully describing the final stage of the process, which prevents complete coverage of all parts of the task. These limitations restrict the score for this criterion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The text exhibits some overall organisation with an introductory sentence and clear sequential progression indicated by transition words such as 'Initally' and 'Once'. Paragraphing is attempted, though the final section trails off into isolated fragments rather than forming a cohesive concluding paragraph. Cohesive devices are used, but referencing is sometimes unclear, such as 'these moist air' and 'moist area get accumulated'. Progression is interrupted by the abrupt ending of the text mid-thought.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary related to the process, such as 'winds', 'moist air', 'clouds', 'rainfalls', and 'leewardside'. However, there are numerous lexical and spelling errors throughout the text, including 'Initally', 'upwards direction' (awkward phrasing), 'mosit', 'colleted', 'cloudsr', and 'leewardside'. The range of vocabulary is limited and repetition of basic terms occurs, which restricts the lexical score to the mid-bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'Overall, the process of forming desert are divided into seven stages, which is carried out by changes in weather...'. However, grammatical control is weak, with several noticeable errors including subject-verb agreement issues ('process... are', 'these moist air further get'), missing articles ('forming desert'), and punctuation or spacing errors. These errors occasionally cause difficulty or hesitation for the reader.

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

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