Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The provided graph the diagram depicts formation of rain shadow deserts on an island.

Overall, it get formed though seven interconnect stages . it begins when winds coming from sea and ends up, when its reaches to a plain land, while traveling though mountain .

As is presented, initially a sea winds comes from occan and when it approaches to coastal land, which having mountains of or hilly range on its extreme. Then Then cold wind goes repward. After reaching specific altitude, it mixed with moisture and get more cold. It turns into a clouds. Finally, it falls on moad mountain peak.

Prefing Further, When cloud rinse the

mountain. The water goes to leeward side, where condition were cool, but dry. Subsequently wind follows sloppy path and reached plain land. Hence the rain shadow deserts got formed. It got formed when ocean wind travel thousands of kilometers when high mountain on its path.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the process as involving several stages and give a broad beginning-to-end account, including winds approaching the coast, rain falling near the mountains, and dry conditions inland. However, some key stages are unclear or inaccurately described. The diagram shows moist air rising and cooling before clouds form; your account instead says the wind goes upward and then “mixed with moisture,” which reverses or obscures that sequence. It also shows dry air crossing the mountain and reaching inland, whereas “the water goes to leeward side” suggests precipitation travels there. The overview is present but vague, and the final explanation about travel over thousands of kilometres is not clearly connected to the diagram. Report the stages in order and distinguish rainfall on the windward side from dry air on the leeward side.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is an attempt to organise the response with an opening, an overview, and sequencing expressions such as “initially,” “Finally,” and “Subsequently.” These help the reader recognise that a process is being described. However, progression is difficult to follow because the stages are grouped into unclear sentences, and the transition from rainfall to the leeward side is especially confusing. The paragraph beginning “Prefing Further” interrupts the flow, while repeated or misplaced connectors such as “Then Then” and “Hence” do not reliably show the relationship between ideas. Use separate, purposeful paragraphs for the overview and the stages, and connect each stage explicitly to the next. Clear references to windward and leeward sides would also improve continuity.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The response attempts some topic-specific vocabulary, including “coastal,” “moisture,” “altitude,” “leeward side,” and “rain shadow deserts.” This shows awareness of the process vocabulary needed for the task. However, word choice and spelling are often inaccurate or unclear, sometimes making the intended meaning hard to recover: “occ an,” “repward,” “moad,” and “sloppy path” do not communicate the relevant features reliably. Several combinations are also unnatural, such as “sea winds” and “cloud rinse the mountain.” Aim for precise terms from the diagram, including “moist air,” “rises,” “cools,” “precipitation,” and “dry winds.” Proofreading spelling and choosing standard collocations would make the description clearer and more appropriate for an academic process report.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including clauses beginning “when” and “After reaching specific altitude,” but control is inconsistent. Errors in verb forms and agreement occur throughout, for example “it get formed,” “winds coming,” “it mixed,” and “wind follows … and reached.” Articles and sentence construction are also problematic in phrases such as “a sea winds” and “when it approaches to coastal land, which having mountains.” These errors often make relationships between stages difficult to understand. Punctuation and capitalisation are inconsistent, including the repeated “Then Then” and the fragment-like “Prefing Further, When cloud rinse the / mountain.” Practise building accurate sentences with a clear subject and verb, then use a few controlled clauses to show sequence and cause.

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