Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-05

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 daigram below illustrates the formation of rain-shadow desert which is a type of desert itself.

Overall, the formation process involves basically 7 steps in total. It is clearly visible from the picture that mountains play a major role in the whole formation process of rain-shadow desert.

A glance at the daigram reveals, the process revolves around the mountains that are thousands of kilometres wide below the sea level ranging from costal area to the inlands where the rain-shadow desert is formed. Firstly, at a sea wind moves in the direction of cost where it is being pushed upwards towards the windward side of the mountains. Followed by a rise in the moist air and being cooled out simultaniously, the formation of clouds start at the fourth stage of the process in the air followed by rainfall at the end.

Further analysis of the picture reveals, although the role of winward side ends but the dry air continues to slide down towards leeward side. Finally, at bottom the inland areas receive the dry air making the formation of rain-shadow desert complete.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by covering the main stages of the rain-shadow desert formation process depicted in the diagram, from the winds approaching the coast to the creation of the desert inland. An overview is successfully provided, stating that there are seven steps and that mountains play a major role. However, some aspects of the process are under-developed or lack precision. For example, the description of the stages lacks some specific geographical details, and terms like 'at a sea wind moves' demonstrate slight confusion regarding the exact elements of the diagram. The selection of features is mostly relevant, but the overall extension of ideas is limited, preventing the response from reaching a higher level of task fulfillment.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response exhibits a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a concluding synthesis. Information is generally ordered chronologically following the steps in the diagram. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'Firstly', 'Followed by', and 'Finally' are utilized to guide the reader through the stages of the process. However, some referencing is not always clear, and the use of cohesive markers can occasionally feel mechanical or slightly repetitive, such as the repeated use of 'followed by' within a single sentence. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, overview, and specific process details, maintaining a logical progression throughout.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the student to describe a natural process. There are attempts to incorporate less common vocabulary, such as 'simultaneously', 'winward' (windward), and 'leeward', showing an effort to use subject-specific terminology. However, there are noticeable spelling errors ('daigram' for diagram, 'costal' for coastal, 'simultaniously', 'winward') and minor word-choice inaccuracies, such as 'at a sea wind moves' and 'below the sea level' which misinterprets the visual scale. These lexical errors and awkward collocations do not heavily impede communication, but they restrict the score to a moderate level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writing displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting structures like participial phrases ('Followed by a rise in the moist air and being cooled out'). However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, particularly with prepositions, articles, and word forms within grammatical patterns (e.g., 'formation of rain-shadow desert' missing articles, 'being pushed upwards... towards... where the rain-shadow desert is formed'). Punctuation is also slightly flawed with a comma splice in the third paragraph ('A glance at the daigram reveals, the process revolves...'). While these errors rarely completely obscure the meaning, they are frequent enough to affect the overall control of sentence structures.

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