Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-04

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 process diagram illustrates the steps and stages involved in the formation of rain-shadow deserts.

Overall, the development of rain-shadow deserts underwent several stages, starting from wind approach coast , ending with dry wind reach inland area to cover thousands of kilometres to produce rain-shadow desert. the noticable features are windward side, leeward side, mountain inland surface also significant in this process.

At the beginning, winds are moved from the sea to approach coast, then thery are pushed themselves to windward side where there moisture is increased and they become cools before being to produce cloudes. Once the stage is completed, these water filled clouds is fallen at the top in the form of rain until the clouds are empty or transformed into dried air.

Following this stage, this dried air is started moving over mountain and pushed into downward direction at leeward side. Finally , the air undergoes various stages and at the inland areas which is far away from the mountain. In this stage dry winds transformed into particals to produce rain-shadow desert.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by outlining the main stages of rain-shadow desert formation from the initial winds to the final inland result. An overview is attempted in the second paragraph, mentioning key geographical features like the windward and leeward sides and mountains. However, some ideas are underdeveloped or lack clarity, particularly the description of how the clouds empty and how dry winds interact with inland areas, where phrasing becomes somewhat vague. Despite these minor limitations in extension, all essential steps from the diagram are covered in a relevant manner, satisfying the requirements for this level.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The text presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to logically sequence the stages of the process, moving from the initial approach of the winds to the final desert formation. Paragraphing is used to separate the introduction, overview, and specific stages of the diagram. However, cohesion is at times mechanical or faulty, seen in transitions like 'Once the stage is completed' and 'Following this stage'. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, such as 'this dried air is started moving over mountain and pushed into downward direction at leeward side', which disrupts the smooth progression of ideas between sentences.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, successfully incorporating topic-specific terms such as 'process diagram', 'moisture', 'windward side', 'leeward side', and 'inland areas'. However, there are noticeable word choice and word formation inaccuracies, such as 'wind approach coast', 'thery are pushed themselves', 'cloudes', 'is fallen', and 'particals' instead of particles. These errors do not impede overall communication, but they reflect limitations in precision and spelling that prevent the use of a wider range of less common lexical items.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over structure when describing the stages. However, there are frequent grammatical errors involving verb forms, passives, articles, and prepositions inside grammatical patterns, such as 'winds are moved', 'they become cools', 'these water filled clouds is fallen', and 'at the inland areas which is far away'. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with missing capitalisation and spacing issues around commas and periods. These errors occur regularly across the text, though they rarely impede the reader's understanding of the overall process.

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