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 picture illustrates the complete process of the formation of a rain desert shadow.

Overall, this process consists of seven different stages. The process start from the ocean and then passes through the high mountain and cover thousands of kilometers then it becomes the rain shadow desert.

After looking at the diagaram, the process continue from the sea when a winds approach the coast. The evaporated particles push the winds upwards to windward side there the moist air rise and becomes cool. In addtion, this moist air reaches at the top of the mountain and becomes the form of clouds.

Furthermore, the dry air continues his journey over the mountain to the leeward side with high speed.In seven stage, the dry winds reach in the inland areas of the forest. Finally after covering the thousands of kilometers the rain shadow desert is formed. The whole process takes a long time to reach at the final stage.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student attempts to describe the seven stages of the rain-shadow desert formation shown in the diagram. An overview is provided, noting that the process has seven stages and spans thousands of kilometres from the ocean to the inland desert. However, the response contains several inaccuracies and awkward phrasings regarding the steps. For instance, the text states 'evaporated particles push the winds upwards,' which misinterprets the mechanism of moist air rising over mountains. Furthermore, stage six and seven are slightly confused by mentioning high speed and forest instead of inland areas. While the main features are touched upon, the lack of precision in describing the scientific and geographical relationships prevents the response from achieving a higher band score. It satisfies the basic requirements of summarising the process but remains limited in development.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response is organised into four paragraphs, including a brief introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs that follow the sequential steps in the diagram. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall,' 'After looking at the diagram,' 'In addition,' 'Furthermore,' and 'Finally' are used to guide the reader through the stages. However, some transitions are mechanical or awkwardly phrased, such as 'After looking at the diagram, the process continue.' Paragraphing is attempted, but the grouping of sentences feels slightly disjointed in places. Referencing is generally clear, but overall progression is occasionally hindered by abrupt shifts and repetitive phrasing, placing it firmly at a Band 6 level.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for a basic description of a process, including terms like 'ocean,' 'mountain,' 'moist air,' 'clouds,' and 'rain.' However, the range is limited, and there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'formation of a rain desert shadow' (instead of rain-shadow desert) and 'the process start' (grammatical error in vocabulary form). Attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'evaporated particles' and 'thousands of kilometers,' are used somewhat inappropriately or repetitively. Errors in spelling and lexical items do not completely impede communication, but they restrict the score to Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The text displays a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, such as 'When a winds approach the coast' and 'Finally after covering the thousands of kilometers the rain shadow desert is formed.' However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('the process start,' 'a winds'), missing articles ('reaches at the top'), incorrect prepositions ('reaches in the inland areas'), and tense inconsistencies ('continues his journey'). Punctuation is also occasionally faulty, missing commas after introductory phrases. These errors cause some difficulty for the reader and reflect a limited command of grammatical structures.

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