Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-02

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 the formation of rain-shadow deserts through seven types of process.

Overall, this process start from the sea than it goes upward with the help of mountain than it goes downside to the inland to create rain shadow desert, it covers around thousands of kilometers to form rain-shadow desert.

Winds approach coast through the sea after that it push upwards with the help of mountains from the windward side of the mountain than it turns winds moist and cool. It surge 80% of the mountain and form clouds, it reaced to the reach to its peak and rain falls from the cloud.

After completing windward side it goes to leeward side of the mountain where, dry air continues over mountain and the air dropped down and create dry winds that reach inland areas and the inland area is the final phase of rain-shadow deserts. The total formation cover around thousands of kilometers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by outlining the main stages of rain-shadow desert formation from the sea to inland areas. An overview is attempted, noting that the process starts from the sea and spans thousands of kilometres. However, some parts of the task are handled less fully or contain minor inaccuracies; for instance, the detail that it 'surge 80% of the mountain' misinterprets the visual data, and the explanation of the stages remains somewhat basic and lacks full development. While the overall progression is sketched out, extending the descriptions of how moisture is lost and how dry air descends would elevate the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The text demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a clear paragraph structure separating the introduction, overview, and specific stages of the process. Cohesive devices and referencing are used, such as 'Overall', 'After completing windward side', and 'where', which help guide the reader through the sequence. However, cohesion is at times mechanical or faulty, with repetitive phrasing like 'to form rain-shadow desert' and loose referencing where pronouns do not always clearly point to their antecedents. To achieve a higher band, the transitions between sentences need to be smoother and referencing more precise throughout the progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

An adequate range of vocabulary is deployed for the task, successfully incorporating topic-specific terms such as 'moist air', 'windward side', 'leeward side', and 'dry winds'. Less common vocabulary is attempted, though with noticeable inaccuracies in word choice and word forms, such as 'process start from' instead of 'starts', 'push upwards' where passive voice is required, and awkward phrasing like 'turns winds moist'. Spelling is generally acceptable, but minor lexical slips occasionally distract the reader. Developing greater precision in collocations and ensuring accurate word forms will help improve this score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writing uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting multi-clause sentences such as 'After completing windward side it goes to leeward side of the mountain where, dry air continues...' However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, including missing articles ('the sea', 'the mountain'), incorrect verb tense and agreement ('process start', 'it push', 'reaced to the reach'), and unnecessary commas before relative clauses. While these errors rarely completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to restrict the response, and greater control over basic grammatical structures is needed.

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