Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-06

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 5.0)

The picture represents about the recylce process of of climate change in mountains areas.

It is crystal clear that to form rain-shadow deserts process its takes 7 process to cerate the formation of rain- shadow deserts. It starts with winds approach at coast which hepls to cerate the rain falls and ends with dry winds reach in land areas.

The starting phases of rain- shadow desters begains with winds approach in coast of the sea. When winds hit with the moutains winds pushed upwards and slowly its contant moist air and cools because of windwards side. After that it take formation of clouds when its reach its limite its starts rain falls. In mountain leewards side the dry air continues over mountain and slowly dry winds reach inlands areas that the hole reasons for rain-shadow deserts. To complete the process the winds and cloulds have to travel thounds of kilometers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response addresses the task only partially and misunderstands the core topic, inaccurately describing the diagram as representing the 'recylce process of climate change' rather than meteorological phenomena. While the overview attempts to outline the seven steps from winds approaching the coast to dry winds reaching inland areas, the main features are limited and under-developed. The description lacks precision, and key elements from the visual data, such as the rain-shadow desert itself, are only briefly mentioned at the very end without adequate expansion or clear reporting of the spatial relationships shown in the diagram.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response shows some basic organization with an introductory sentence and a body paragraph detailing the sequence, but there is no clear overall progression. Paragraphing is weak, with the bulk of the text clumped together into a single dense body paragraph. Cohesive devices are repetitive and basic, relying on simple connectors like 'After that' and 'When', and referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the ambiguous pronoun use in 'slowly its contant moist air'. This mechanical and limited linking prevents the information from flowing logically from one stage to the next.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The lexical resource is limited and minimally adequate for the task, containing noticeable spelling and word-choice errors that cause difficulty for the reader. There are frequent misspellings such as 'recylce', 'cerate', 'begains', 'limite', 'leewards', 'inlands', 'hole', 'cloulds', and 'thounds'. Word choice is frequently awkward or imprecise, such as describing a geographical diagram as a 'recylce process of of climate change'. Attempts to use less common vocabulary fail due to inaccurate collocation and word formation, which strains comprehension in several places.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a very limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on simple sentences and faulty attempts at complex clauses. There are frequent grammatical errors in verb forms, tense consistency, and prepositions, such as 'The picture represents about', 'its takes 7 process', 'winds approach at coast which hepls to cerate', and 'When winds hit with the moutains winds pushed upwards'. Article errors and missing plurals are common throughout, and punctuation is weak. These frequent errors cause considerable difficulty for the reader and reflect a lack of control over basic and complex grammatical patterns.

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