Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)
The following diagram illustrates about how rain-shadow deserts are formed , there are 7 steps of the formation of rain-shadow.
starting from the first step in which the winds is approach from the sea cost and then pushed upwards through the mountains as shown in step 2,as the more upward the winds goes it becomes moist and cool air and further gets converted to cloud as shown in step 4 and this could further causes rain falls.
As we can see from the figure that the mountain is spread thousands of kilometers wide the other side of the mountain is having dry air which moves downward and reach the inland areas which causes the formation of the rain-shadow desert.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response covers the main stages of the diagram, moving from the sea and coast, through the mountain range where clouds and rain form, down to the leeward side and the rain-shadow desert. However, the student missed the minimum word count requirement, writing only 119 words instead of the required 150. Consequently, the development of some ideas is limited and incomplete. While the key sequential steps are identified, the overall response lacks the depth and fully extended overview expected at higher bands. Therefore, Task Achievement is penalised for length.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The text is divided into three brief paragraphs, attempting a logical progression from the introduction to the initial steps and concluding with the formation of the desert. However, paragraphing is underdeveloped due to the short length. Cohesive devices are basic and sometimes repetitive (e.g., 'starting from the first step', 'as shown in step 2', 'and then'). Referencing within sentences is occasionally unclear or clunky, such as 'this could further causes rain falls', which disrupts the flow of ideas.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate to convey the basic process, incorporating terms directly from the prompt like 'winds', 'moist and cool air', 'cloud', 'mountain', and 'rain-shadow desert'. However, the range is limited and repetitive. There are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'the winds is approach from the sea cost' (instead of 'winds approach from the sea coast') and 'this could further causes'. These errors reflect a restricted lexical repertoire.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentences, but grammatical control is weak. There are frequent errors in verb forms, tense consistency, and subject-verb agreement, such as 'the winds is approach' and 'this could further causes rain falls'. Punctuation is also problematic, featuring run-on sentences joined improperly with commas (e.g., '...through the mountains as shown in step 2,as the more upward the winds goes...'). These errors occasionally impede smooth reading.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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