Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-29

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 5.5)

The diagram illustrates the formation of a desert, called rain-shadow desert.

Overall, It can be observed that mountains are situated between the named desert and the ocean. Furthermore, the arrows indicate the direction of the wind which flows from the sea, going over the mountains and ending up on the rain-shadow desert.

The mountains contain two sides, the one along the sea coast is mentioned as wideward side and the opposite side is called leeward side. The mountains are positioned at the coast of the ocean, which spreads about thousands of kilometres. On the other side of it, there is an inland, which is the described as desert.

There are seven steps that describe the process of forming the desert. At outset, the wind flows toward the coast, followed by the wind going upwards. The air becomes moist and cold as it rises to the top and ends up as clouds which then falls as rain. The dry air keeps flowing over the mountains and ends up going over the inland.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The student successfully covers all major parts of the diagram, providing a clear summary of how a rain-shadow desert is formed. The response includes an overview noting the physical positioning of the mountains between the ocean and the desert, and outlines the sequential steps of the process from the winds approaching the coast to dry winds reaching inland areas. Minor spelling and lexical inaccuracies, such as "wideward" instead of "windward", do not prevent the candidate from successfully fulfilling the core requirements of the task. The main features and comparisons are reported adequately, meeting the criteria for a band 6.5 or 7.0; however, because some aspects of the process are described rather briefly without fully extending the explanations of atmospheric changes, a score of 6.5 is appropriate.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The text is logically organised into clear paragraphs, starting with an introduction, moving to an overview, describing the geographical features, and finally detailing the sequential steps of the process. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as "Overall", "Furthermore", and "At outset". However, there are some mechanical or slightly awkward transitions, and the referencing is occasionally clunky, such as "the described as desert" and "the one along the sea coast is mentioned as wideward side". Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately to separate distinct aspects of the prompt. Overall arrangement is coherent, earning a solid band 6.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items such as "precipitation-related" terms like "moist air", "clouds form", and "dry winds". However, there are noticeable lexical and spelling inaccuracies that reflect a lack of precision, including "wideward side" (instead of windward side), "at outset" (instead of at the outset), and "the described as desert". Despite these errors, communication is not impeded, and the vocabulary remains minimally sufficient to describe the visual data, aligning well with the band 6.0 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as "It can be observed that mountains are situated..." and "The air becomes moist and cold as it rises to the top...". There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings throughout the text, including punctuation slips like "Overall, It can be observed", incorrect articles ("the rain-shadow desert", "the described as desert"), and preposition choices. Nevertheless, these errors rarely impede overall communication, and the writer demonstrates adequate control over basic sentence forms while attempting some complex arrangements, placing this performance firmly in the band 6.0 category.

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

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