Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-08

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 illusterate the process of making rain shadow desert from are formed due to the presence of mountain ranges.

To begin with, winda are approching to the sea costle area. Afterthat, winds go upward and carry mositure that gradually expends and cools. Simultaneously, the cooling are converte into clouds, leading to the heavu rain fall over the windward side of the mountain.

On the other side, due to having lose most of the moisture through rainfall, now dry air continoue over the mountain peak and decends down the leeward side. As trhese dry winds sweep down into the low-lying inland area. They absorb avilable surface moisture without provinding rain, ultimating creating and maintaining a rain-shadow cover thousand of killometres inland.

Overall, this process consit seven stages, begining with moist oceanic winds and approaching the coast. Winds following winward side and making clouds. Hence rain is happened and Flow downward through dry weather in leeward side.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You cover the main sequence and identify the key contrast between the moist, rain-producing windward side and the dry inland leeward side. Details such as air rising and cooling, clouds forming, rainfall, and dry air continuing over the mountain are relevant and mostly match the diagram. The explanation that the winds lose moisture through rainfall helps clarify how the desert forms. However, the overview is unclear and partly repeats the stages rather than summarising the process’s main outcome. The claim that the winds “absorb available surface moisture” and “maintain” the desert is not shown in the diagram, while the stated scale of thousands of kilometres could be reported more clearly. A more precise overview and closer focus on depicted information would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a description of the windward stages, a paragraph on the leeward side, and a concluding overview. Sequencing expressions such as “To begin with,” “After that,” and “On the other side” help the reader follow the process. However, the final paragraph repeats earlier information and its sequence is difficult to interpret, particularly “Winds following winward side and making clouds.” Some links are also awkward or incomplete: “As these dry winds sweep down…” is not joined smoothly to the preceding sentence. Organise the stages in a clear chronological progression, and use the overview to summarise the cause-and-effect pattern rather than restating details.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You attempt relevant process vocabulary, including “moisture,” “windward side,” “leeward side,” “rainfall,” and “inland,” which helps convey the topic. There is also some effort to use more specific language, such as “oceanic winds” and “low-lying inland area.” However, spelling errors are frequent, including “illusterate,” “mositure,” “continoue,” and “killometres,” and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, such as “rain-shadow cover” and “rain is happened.” These errors sometimes make the description harder to understand. Build a reliable set of process verbs and collocations, and check spelling carefully; for example, use “forms a rain-shadow desert” rather than “creating a rain-shadow cover.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a cause-and-effect construction with “leading to” and a clause beginning “due to.” However, control is inconsistent, and faulty structures sometimes obscure the relationships between stages. For example, “the cooling are converte into clouds” has problems with agreement and passive formation, while “As these dry winds sweep down into the low-lying inland area” is a dependent clause presented as a complete sentence. The concluding sentence, “Hence rain is happened,” also uses an incorrect verb construction. Practise forming complete sentences with clear subjects and verbs, and check agreement, articles, and verb forms. More accurate control of these structures would make your process explanation easier to follow.

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