Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-24

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 process by which a desert, knowns as rain-shadow desert is produced. The process outlines various stages involved, from sea wind approaching coast to dry winds reaching inland areas.

Overall, the process consists of 7 stages, starting with sea wind approaching coast and ending with dry wind reaching inland areas. One noticeable thing is that process starts at sea level and ends at inland area which are far away from each other.

In the beginning, the wind in the sea reaches the coast from where it is pushed upward towards the mountains. On the mountains, the moist air rises and cools down, followed by clouds formation on the windward side.

After the clouds are formed, the rain starts to fall on the earth. After rain, dry air continues over mountain and start moving towards leeward side. Then this dry air passing through leeward side, reaches the inland areas thousands of kilometres away from the sea, where rain-shadow desert is formed.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student successfully covers all the key stages of the rain-shadow desert formation diagram, from the winds approaching the coast to the creation of the desert inland. An overview is provided in the second paragraph, outlining the total number of stages and the overall spatial progression from the sea to the inland area. The main features are appropriately reported, including the windward side, cloud formation, precipitation, and the leeward descent towards the rain-shadow desert. However, the description tends to rely heavily on listing the consecutive steps without deep integration or high-level comparison. Nevertheless, all parts of the task are addressed adequately, satisfying the requirements for a Band 6.5 or solid Band 6.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement, moving logically from the beginning of the process to the final stage. Paragraphing is utilised appropriately, separating the introduction, overview, and body details. Cohesive devices such as 'In the beginning', 'After the clouds are formed', and 'Then this dry air' are used to signal sequence, although they can feel slightly mechanical. Referencing is generally clear, with terms like 'this dry air' helping to maintain cohesion across sentences. However, the transitions between sentences could be smoother to achieve a higher band. Overall, the logical progression is maintained throughout the text.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'process', 'approaching', 'precipitation' (implied via rain), 'moist air', and 'inland areas'. There are some word-choice and grammatical-form errors, such as 'knowns as rain-shadow desert' (missing article and inflection error) and 'clouds formation' instead of 'cloud formation'. Less common lexical items are attempted, but with occasional inaccuracies. While spelling and word-choice errors are present, they do not impede communication, placing the response comfortably in the Band 6 category.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as the relative clause in 'which are far away from each other'. There are several grammatical errors and omissions throughout the text, including missing articles ('a desert, knowns as rain-shadow desert', 'wind in the sea', 'over mountain'), tense issues ('start moving' instead of 'starts moving'), and punctuation slips. Although these errors are noticeable, the majority of simple sentences are accurate, and meaning is generally clear without communication being impeded. This reflects the characteristics of Band 6 grammar.

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

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