Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · 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 4.5)

The daigram elucidate show the sequential procuedure for formation of rain-shadow desert through oceanic wind and mountainic wind.

overall, rain-shadow desert consists of seven following procedures in which it shows how the moisture laiden wind are converted into airid winds on leeward side.

To begain with, Rain-shadow desert consists of two sides windward side and leeward side. Wind travells thousands of kilometers for the formation of rain-shadow deserts wind has to passes from thw oceans to approach coast, which alooow winds pushed into upwards direction. Where moist air rises and cools the temperature so that clouds are formed and condensation occurs. Subsequently which allow precipitaion and thus rainfall happens on mountains which allow vegetaion on mountains towards wind ward side.

folowing the precepitaion the wind dry air continues over mountains on leeward side which further continue dry winds when reaches upon inland areas into the soil where actually rain-shadow occurs.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The student attempts to describe the seven-stage process of rain-shadow desert formation shown in the diagram, covering the transition from oceanic winds to arid conditions on the leeward side. However, there are significant flaws in task completion and clarity. The overview provided in the second paragraph is weak and contains awkward phrasing ('seven following procedures'). While the main features—such as moist air rising, cloud formation, precipitation on the windward side, and dry winds reaching inland—are mentioned, the response struggles with precise reporting of the diagram's spatial relationships and sequence. Misinterpretations of the visual data, combined with expression issues, prevent the response from achieving a higher band. It is nonetheless a complete attempt that touches on all parts of the visual information.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response is divided into four paragraphs, attempting an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs. However, logical progression is frequently disrupted by poor sentence construction and awkward linking expressions. For example, transitional phrases like 'To begain with' and 'folowing the precepitaion' are mechanically used and suffer from spelling errors. Referencing is often unclear, leaving the reader confused about whether the writer is referring to the wind, the mountains, or the air. Paragraphing is attempted, but internal cohesion is weak, leading to a choppy and disjointed reading experience that fits the Band 5 profile.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.0

Lexical range is limited and severely impacted by frequent spelling mistakes and inaccurate word choices. Examples of misspelled words include 'daigram' (diagram), 'elucidate' (elucidates), 'procuedure' (procedure), 'laiden' (laden), 'airid' (arid), 'begain' (begin), 'travells' (travels), 'aloow' (allow), 'precipitaion' (precipitation), 'vegetaion' (vegetation), and 'precepitaion' (precipitation). The writer attempts less common vocabulary such as 'moisture laden', 'condensation', and 'inland areas', but the dense clustering of spelling errors and word-formation mistakes ('mountainic wind') heavily impedes communication and lowers the lexical score to a Band 4.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.0

Grammatical control is weak throughout the response. The writer attempts some complex structures, but these are almost always marred by severe errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('moisture laiden wind are converted') and run-on sentences with missing punctuation ('Wind travells thousands of kilometers for the formation of rain-shadow deserts wind has to passes from thw oceans to approach coast, which alooow winds pushed into upwards direction'). Simple sentences also contain basic structural flaws, such as 'The daigram elucidate show...'. Errors are frequent and often cause severe strain and difficulty for the reader, aligning closely with the descriptors for 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.