Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-27
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 diagram shows the process of rain shadow desert and how it is formed.At first wind approaches at sea coast furthermore winds pushed upwards as well as moist air rises and cools and then clouds is formed.
In addition,the rains falls on the mountains as well as dry air continues over mountain.After that dry winds reaches in land areas where rain-shadow desert is formed.This process is done between the distance of thousands of kilometres from the sea coast to the dry land area.When the wind is starts to begin on the surface of the sea,the winds starts pushed upwards to the mountains .After that the air becomes cool and the clouds is formed.
On the other hand,windward side of the mountains where the clouds is formed are ready for rain falls.In addition the other side of mountain is leeward side where the dry air continues over mountain and then this air reaches on the bottom of the dry desert which is called rain-shadow
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The student attempts to describe the process of rain-shadow desert formation, covering the main steps outlined in the diagram, such as winds approaching the coast, being pushed upward, moist air cooling, clouds forming, rain falling, and dry air moving over the mountains to create an inland desert. However, the response suffers from significant repetition, recounting the same sequence multiple times without adding new information. Furthermore, important spatial relationships and labels from the prompt—such as the distinction between the windward and leeward sides, and the horizontal scale of 'thousands of kilometres'—are mentioned somewhat awkwardly or underdeveloped. Consequently, the task is only partially satisfied, leading to a band score of 5.0.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The text is divided into three short paragraphs, but the overall progression is heavily impaired by repetitive looping through the same stages of the diagram. Cohesive devices are used (e.g., 'In addition', 'After that', 'On the other hand'), but their application is frequently repetitive ('After that' is used three times) or mechanically forced, failing to guide the reader smoothly through a logical sequence. Paragraphing lacks clear thematic separation, as the second and third paragraphs rehash processes already introduced in the opening section. Pronoun referencing and overall cohesion need substantial improvement to achieve a clearer logical flow.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is relatively basic and repetitive, frequently lifting terms directly from the prompt ('rain-shadow desert', 'winds approach', 'mountains', 'sea coast'). There are noticeable word-choice and collocation errors, such as 'the rains falls', 'winds reaches in land areas', and 'the wind is starts to begin'. While the response employs a minimally adequate range of vocabulary to communicate the basic topic, the frequent inaccuracies and lack of flexible lexical control prevent it from reaching a higher band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentences, but grammatical control is weak throughout. There are persistent errors in subject-verb agreement and tense consistency, such as 'clouds is formed', 'winds starts pushed upwards', and 'when the wind is starts to begin'. Punctuation and sentence boundary issues are also present, including missing spaces after commas (e.g., 'In addition,the rains falls') and an incomplete final sentence ('...which is called rain-shadow'). These frequent errors can occasionally cause difficulty for the reader, placing the response firmly at band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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