Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-30

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)

In this diagram, we can see how to form rain shadow deserts. In the first winds approach the coast and the winds push upwords and the air was cool and pleasent. Moist air rises and cools. In this case the clouds are making it black everywhere. And make rainy day. In a few minutes we can see rains drops coming down word on earth and they clean all environment and we can feel the environment are clean and is healthy, plants and trees and other are looking good and in pure shape. In Northern areas the rain water is freeze on the mountain because these areas are cold and their temperature are normal, so their air are dry. This is the main reason why, rain water are freeze their. Dry air are reached inland areas. Because in this, areas are dry or cold. Everytime and everyday their are cold and dry air reached

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The response fails to adequately summarise the provided process diagram. Instead of describing the physical stages of rain-shadow desert formation—such as moist air rising over the windward side of mountains, precipitation, and the resulting dry air on the leeward side—the student introduces irrelevant personal commentary, imaginative descriptions ("clouds are making it black everywhere", "they clean all environment"), and inaccurate meteorological claims not present in the diagram, such as rain water freezing in northern areas. While the prompt asks for an overview of how the desert is formed, the student misses key relationships between the sea, coast, windward side, mountains, leeward side, and inland desert. Consequently, the task is addressed only minimally.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

The text lacks clear overall progression and logical organisation. Sentences are strung together with very basic transitional phrases like "In this case" and "In a few minutes", which do not accurately reflect the static, sequential nature of a scientific diagram. Paragraphing is entirely neglected, as the entire response is written as a single, disorganised block of text. Pronoun referencing is frequently confusing or absent, making it difficult for the reader to follow which elements (e.g., "they", "these areas", "this") refer to the coast, winds, mountains, or air masses.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The vocabulary is basic and repetitive, frequently relying on simple terms like "air", "dry", "cold", and "environment". There are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as "how to form rain shadow deserts", "winds push upwords", and "rains drops coming down word on earth". Attempts to use more descriptive language result in unnatural phrasing, such as "in pure shape" or "rain water are freeze their". The range of vocabulary is limited and minimally adequate only for basic personal communication rather than an academic data summary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.0

The grammatical range is extremely limited, consisting mostly of simple and attempted complex sentences that are marred by frequent, intrusive errors. There are numerous basic errors in subject-verb agreement and tense consistency, such as "winds approach... and the winds push", "the air was cool", "rain water are freeze their", and "Everytime and everyday their are cold and dry air reached". Punctuation is weak, and word-formation errors (e.g., "upwords", "down word") further impede readability and obscure the intended meaning throughout the text.

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