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 shows a step-by-step process of how rain-shadow is formed.

The process consist's of seven stage's starting from the sea coast travelling thousands of kilometer's to inland where rain-shadow desert is formed.

It starts from the sea where winds approach the coast and pusch it upward towards the mountain where moist air rises and cools at the windward side of the mountain.Here the cloud is formed which then turns into rain fallat the peak of the mountain.

The rain falls at the peak of mountain.Then the dry air formed due to rain continues over the mountain in desending order at the leeward side. As it decreases the dry winds reach inland areas and touches the inland. This is where rain-shower derest is formed.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response partially addresses the task by outlining the main stages of the rain-shadow desert formation process, from the sea to inland areas. However, the length requirement is not met, as the text contains only 124 words, falling short of the 150-word minimum. While the sequence of steps is generally outlined, the ideas are limited and under-developed, with some inaccuracies in reporting the visual data, such as stating that rain falls at the peak and then mentioning rain again without clear progression. To reach a higher level, the response needs to fully meet the word count, present a clearer overview of the entire process, and provide a more fully developed account of all seven stages shown in the diagram.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The text demonstrates some organisation, moving chronologically through the stages of the diagram, but there is no clear overall progression due to the fragmented paragraph structure and short sentences. Cohesive devices are minimal, repetitive, and occasionally mechanical, such as the repetitive use of 'Then' and 'It starts from'. Paragraphing is also poorly managed, as the body of the text is crammed into a couple of dense blocks without a clear introduction or concluding overview. To improve, the writer should use a wider variety of cohesive devices to link ideas smoothly and organise the response into logical paragraphs, such as separating the introduction, the rising moist air phase, and the descending dry air phase.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate to describe the basic process. There are noticeable errors in spelling, word formation, and word choice that occasionally cause difficulty for the reader, such as 'pusch' instead of push, 'desending' instead of descending, and 'rain-shower derest' instead of rain-shadow desert. The writer attempts some less common terms like 'windward' and 'leeward', but these are offset by frequent lexical slips and incorrect word forms like 'stage's'. To achieve a higher band, the student needs to use a broader range of vocabulary accurately, pay closer attention to spelling and word forms, and avoid repetitive phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response exhibits a very limited range of sentence structures, relying mostly on simple sentences with frequent attempts at complex structures that turn out faulty. There are frequent grammatical errors in subject-verb agreement and punctuation, such as 'The process consist's of seven stage's' and missing spaces after periods (e.g., 'mountain.Here', 'mountain.Then'). These frequent errors can cause some difficulty for the reader and distract from the clarity of the description. To improve, the writer must exercise better control over basic grammar rules, such as plurals and apostrophes, and construct more accurate complex sentences without relying excessively on run-on clauses.

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

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