Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The diagram illustrates the steps involved in the formation of rainshadow desert.

Overall, the process consist of seven steps, process begin with when the wind approach into the coast from sea and ends with when the dry wind reach to the inland areas.

At the begining of the process, wind is carried from the sea to the coast, then the wind is pushed upwards from the coast towards windward side, wherease the formation of clouds would occur.

Following the, the process moves to the next stage where the precipatation occurs and the dry air continues over the mountains, passed through leeward side of the mountains and finaly the wind reach to the inland areas, resulting in the Rain-shadow desert formation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The student successfully identifies the overall process of a rain-shadow desert forming across seven main stages, moving from the sea and coast through the mountainous region to the inland area. An overview is attempted, and key features such as cloud formation, precipitation, and dry winds reaching inland are reported. However, the response fails to meet the minimum length requirement of 150 words, containing only 120 words. This under-length impacts the depth and fullness of the response, preventing it from reaching a higher band. Despite this limitation, the primary features of the diagram are accurately captured.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The text exhibits some overall organisation, attempting to trace the sequence from beginning to end using transition phrases like 'At the begining of the process' and 'Following the'. However, paragraphing is underdeveloped, with the entire response grouped into a single block alongside the introductory sentences. Cohesive devices are occasionally inaccurate or awkwardly phrased, such as 'Following the' instead of 'Following this' or 'After that'. Referencing is generally clear, but the lack of distinct paragraphing and mechanical transitions limits the logical flow and cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student uses an adequate vocabulary range to describe the process diagram, incorporating terms such as 'precipitation', 'inland areas', 'windward side', and 'leeward side'. However, there are notable spelling and word-choice errors, including 'begining' instead of 'beginning', 'consist' instead of 'consists', 'approach' instead of 'approaches', 'wherease' instead of 'whereas', and 'finaly' instead of 'finally'. These lexical slips indicate a limited control of word forms and spelling, placing the response firmly in the Band 5 category.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though attempts at complex structures frequently feature grammatical inaccuracies and punctuation slips. Examples include run-on structures and awkward clauses such as 'process begin with when the wind approach into the coast from sea and ends with when the dry wind reach to the inland areas' and 'passed through leeward side of the mountains and finaly the wind reach to the inland areas'. Subject-verb agreement errors ('wind reach') and tense inconsistencies are common, causing some difficulty for the reader.

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.