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 process diagram illustrates how a desert converts into a rain-shadow desert.

Overall process shows how wind from a costal area converts into rain travelling thounsads of kilometers and afterward makes a rain shadow desert.

The process begins with wind approaching to coast area and sea surface pushes this wind upward.This moist air rises above along the windward side of mountains and get cooled which later form the clouds.Clouds are resposible for raining at mountains.This rain makes dry air which continue over the mountains and travelled along leaward side of mountains.when this Dry air reaches inland areas it gives birth to rain shadow deserts.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The response is significantly under-length, containing only 104 words against the required 150-word minimum. This severely limits the student's ability to fully develop the answer. While the writer attempts to summarise the main stages of the rain-shadow desert formation, there are several inaccuracies in understanding the visual data, such as claiming that 'a desert converts into a rain-shadow desert' or that the 'sea surface pushes this wind upward'. The overview is simplistic and inaccurate. Due to the severe word count penalty and under-development of the key features of the diagram, the task achievement is constrained.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The text suffers from a lack of proper paragraphing, being condensed into just a brief introductory sentence, an overview sentence, and a single dense body paragraph. Cohesive devices are minimal and basic, relying heavily on simple transition words like 'The process begins with' and 'later'. Referencing is sometimes unclear, for instance, in phrases like 'This rain makes dry air which continue over the mountains'. While there is a basic chronological progression following the steps of the diagram, the overall structural organisation lacks the clear layout expected in an academic task 1 response.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is fairly basic and repetitive, with several spelling errors ('costal' instead of coastal, 'thounsads' instead of thousands, 'resposible' instead of responsible, 'leaward' instead of leeward). There are also awkward collocations and word choices, such as 'gives birth to rain shadow deserts'. Although the student attempts some topic-related vocabulary like 'moist air', 'windward side', and 'inland areas', the frequency of lexical errors and limited range restrict the score to a band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but grammatical control is weak. There are frequent errors in subject-verb agreement and tense consistency, such as 'wind from a costal area converts into rain travelling... and afterward makes' and 'wind approaches to coast area and sea surface pushes this wind upward'. Punctuation errors are also present, including missing spaces after full stops. These recurring errors occasionally cause strain for the reader, aligning the grammar with band 5.0 descriptors.

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

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