Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-01

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 how a rain shadow desert is formed.

Overall, it is clearly seen that there are several steps in this diagram. The process begins with when moist air from the sea moves towards a mountain and ends with the formation of a dry desert on the other side of the mountain.

To commence with, first of all, winds approach coast from the sea. Then, winds are pushed upwards along the windward side of the mountains. While rising, the air cools and change into cloud form.

followed by fifth step, clouds turns into rain, which falls on the windward side . After that, dry air continues over the mountain on to the leeward side. Then, dry winds reach inland area and creating a rain shadow desert.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the main stages of the rain-shadow desert formation process, beginning with moist air approaching the coast and ending with the desert on the leeward side. However, the explanation lacks sufficient development in several areas, such as the scale or geographical context. Furthermore, the response is 127 words long, which fails to meet the minimum requirement of 150 words. This under-length impacts the overall completeness of the task, leading to a restricted coverage where key features are only partially reported. To reach a higher band, the writer must ensure the word count requirement is met and expand on the intermediate physical changes more thoroughly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The text demonstrates a basic overall arrangement with an introductory sentence and an overview. However, progression is somewhat disjointed due to repetitive and mechanical cohesive devices like 'Then' and 'After that'. Paragraphing is also underdeveloped, with the body of the process squeezed into a single dense block instead of being logically chunked. Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as abrupt transitions between steps. To improve cohesion, the writer should use a wider variety of linking words, avoid repeating transitional adverbs consecutively, and organise the information into distinct paragraphs reflecting the different phases of the diagram.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is minimally adequate for the task, featuring basic terms such as 'moist air', 'mountain', and 'desert'. There are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and awkward phrasing, such as 'change into cloud form' instead of 'condense into clouds' or 'form clouds', and 'creating a rain shadow desert' which exhibits a grammatical-lexical friction in the clause structure. Spelling is generally acceptable, but the range of vocabulary is limited and lacks the more precise terminology required to describe natural geographical processes effectively. Incorporating more specific scientific and academic collocations would significantly elevate this criterion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response shows a limited range of grammatical structures, relying primarily on simple sentences and basic active forms. Attempts at complex clauses are often faulty or awkward, as seen in 'The process begins with when moist air from the sea moves towards...'. There are frequent errors in articles and prepositions, such as 'approach coast' (missing the article 'the') and 'clouds turns into rain' (subject-verb agreement error). Punctuation and sentence boundaries are also weak, with a sentence fragment starting with 'followed by fifth step'. To progress, the writer needs to demonstrate better control over complex sentence patterns and eliminate basic agreement and article slips.

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

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