Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-23
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 4.0)
this diagram illustrate the formation of rain shadow desert and thousand of kilometer of mountain and wind approaches coast form the sea and pushed toward windward side where air moost and cool also show some sort of cloud and rain falls then down toward leeward side and condition of aor show dry over mountain they also demonstrate dry air reach toward the inland area.
overall this give information about the whether .
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 4.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.0 |
| Overall | 4.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0
The response falls significantly short of the 150-word minimum, containing only 72 words. Consequently, the task is only addressed in a minimal fashion. While the writer attempts to outline the stages of rain-shadow desert formation—mentioning winds approaching the coast, moisture cooling, cloud formation, and dry air reaching inland areas—the description is severely underdeveloped and lacks a comprehensive overview. The omission of necessary details and failure to meet the length requirement heavily restrict the score for this criterion, aligning it with Band 4.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0
The text is written as a single, continuous run-on sentence without proper punctuation or capitalization, making the logical progression difficult to follow. There is a lack of clear paragraphing, and cohesive devices are virtually absent apart from basic conjunctions like 'and' and 'then'. Although the sequence of events loosely mirrors the diagram, the lack of structural markers, punctuation, and logical division means information is not arranged coherently, restricting the score to Band 4.
Lexical Resource: Band 4.0
The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, with noticeable spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'moost' for moist, 'aor' for air, and 'whether' for weather. While some relevant subject-specific terms are attempted—such as 'windward side', 'leeward side', and 'inland area'—the limited range and frequent errors in spelling and collocation restrict the vocabulary to a basic level, matching the descriptors for Band 4.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.0
Grammatical control is extremely weak throughout the response. The text consists of a single fragmented sentence punctuated incorrectly, lacking terminal punctuation until the very end. There is a complete absence of complex sentence structures used accurately, and basic subject-verb agreement and tense consistency are ignored (e.g., 'this diagram illustrate' instead of illustrates). Frequent and severe errors distort meaning and impede communication, placing the performance at Band 3.5, which rounds to Band 4.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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