Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · 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 4.5)

The Diagram shows how the one type of desert, known as a rain-shadow desert, is formed.From start with winds approach coast to winds pushed upwards to multiples stages and than in the end the dry winds reach inland areas which cause rain shadow desert.

The First stage is winds approach coast which occurs from sea than its transformed to next stage which is winds pushed upwards which is due to the coast than the third stage is moist air rises and cools so in that stage its moist the air which is rises from windward side and in next stage its form clouds on the windward side which is just few inches below the top level.The next stage is Rain falls start at the top hills of the mountains .The sixth stage is air is starting to dry over mountains moves donwards to leeward side and in the last stage the dry winds reaches to inland areas which cause rain shadow desert

the Complete phenomenon of forming a rain-shadow desert is start from the winds which approach coast and than these winds pushed upwards then it moist the air rises and cool them which form clouds and cause rain falls at the top of mountains than the dry air started moving down over mountains and in the last part these dry winds reach inland areas which is at the below part of mountains and cause rain-shadow desert

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The student attempts to describe the process of rain-shadow desert formation shown in the diagram, covering the main steps from winds approaching the coast to dry winds reaching inland areas. However, the response lacks a proper overview and suffers from significant repetition, with the same sequence repeated across three paragraphs with minimal variation. Important features such as the sea, the windward and leeward sides of the mountains, and the scale of thousands of kilometres are either omitted or poorly integrated. The description tends to list steps rather than effectively report and synthesise the information. Consequently, this falls under Band 5, as it addresses the task only partially with limited development and an unclear overall structure.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

The text is divided into three paragraphs, but the overall progression is heavily impaired by repetition. Instead of presenting a logical flow of information, the writer essentially rewrites the same sequence three times. Cohesive devices are basic and repetitively used, predominantly relying on 'then' and 'and in the last stage'. Referencing is also weak, as seen in phrases like 'which is due to the coast' and 'its moist the air', which make it difficult for the reader to follow the logical links between ideas. Paragraphing is not used effectively to structure the stages of the diagram logically. These issues align with Band 4, reflecting a lack of coherent arrangement.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, frequently reusing terms from the prompt such as 'winds approach coast', 'pushed upwards', and 'rain-shadow desert'. There are numerous word-choice and collocation errors, such as 'multiples stages', 'its transformed', 'its moist the air', and 'at the below part of mountains'. The student attempts some less common vocabulary related to the process, but lack of control leads to noticeable errors and awkward phrasing that sometimes impede communication. This performance matches Band 5, showing a limited and repetitive range with frequent lexical inaccuracies.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.0

Grammatical control is very weak throughout the response. The text is plagued by run-on sentences, missing subjects, incorrect verb forms, and severe punctuation errors. For example, the sentence 'From start with winds approach coast to winds pushed upwards to multiples stages and than in the end the dry winds reach inland areas which cause rain shadow desert' is a tangled fragment containing multiple errors. Structures are largely faulty, with frequent confusion between verbs, nouns, and adjectives (e.g., 'its moist the air which is rises'). Errors are dense and frequently cause difficulty for the reader, placing the writing firmly in Band 4.

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