Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-28

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)

The diagram below shows how one type of desert, known as a rain-shadow desert, is formed.

It is clear to shows that, 7 diffrents stage contrast to rain-formed,beggining with wind approch coast and dry winds reach inland areas during this process all process cross the step.

Overall, it comes out to sea and started wilnd approch coast and winds pushed upgrade to moist air rises and it comes cool after chnge into clouds foam all these process rains fall to down earth, the formation of rain it again convert to dry air continues over the mountain leeward side every process it shows changes again every rain falls. last dry winds reach to island areas and again it mixed and fall down. these all process take thousand of killometres of sea to island.rain falls dropped into the dry air over the mountain reach island areas. started from sea convert winds according process step by step.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The response attempts to describe the process of rain-shadow desert formation shown in the diagram, referencing several key stages such as winds approaching the coast, moist air rising, clouds forming, rain falling, and dry winds reaching inland areas. However, the explanation is extremely fragmented and difficult to follow. The student attempts an overview ('Overall, it comes out to sea...'), but the summary of the main features is obscured by confusing sentence structures and repetitive phrasing. While most of the major steps from the visual data are mentioned in some capacity ('wind approch coast', 'dry air continues over the mountain'), the lack of clear reporting and logical grouping prevents a fully adequate development of the task. This aligns with a Band 4 level.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

The text suffers from serious issues with logical organisation and progression. Although the response attempts to use transitional markers such as 'Overall' and 'last', the sentences are strung together in a chaotic manner without clear paragraphing or cohesive links. Referencing is frequently unclear (e.g., 'all these process rains fall to down earth, the formation of rain it again convert to dry air'), making it hard for the reader to follow the sequence of stages. There is no clear overall progression, and ideas are jumbled together rather than sequenced logically. This fits the Band 4 descriptor.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.0

The vocabulary used is very basic, repetitive, and heavily relies on copying terms directly from the prompt or diagram (e.g., 'wind approach coast', 'dry winds', 'rain-shadow desert', 'mountain'). There are numerous spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text, such as 'diffrents', 'beggining', 'approch', 'upgrade' instead of upwards, 'foam' instead of form, and 'killometres'. These lexical limitations and frequent inaccuracies strain the reader and obscure meaning, placing the response firmly at Band 4.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.0

Grammatical control is extremely weak throughout the response. The text lacks well-formed complex sentences, and even basic sentence structures are frequently broken or incomplete (e.g., 'It is clear to shows that, 7 diffrents stage contrast to rain-formed,beggining with wind approch coast...'). There are persistent punctuation errors, missing articles, incorrect verb forms, and run-on sentences that impede communication. While a very basic sentence pattern is occasionally attempted, errors are extremely frequent and distort the intended meaning, corresponding to a Band 4.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.