Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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)

This picture is explaining the phenomenon of formation of rain-shadow deserts. The process of rain-shadow dessert formation starts with the wind flowing through the sea and approaching the coast of sea along the mountain. The wind strikes the mountain and is pushed to upward direction towards windward side of the mountain. When this moist air rises up and up it starts to cool. This cooling of moist air results in the cloud formation and then these clouds ultimately starts raining. These rain drops then fall on the mountain top and flows downward along the mountain. In the mean time dry air also flows over the top of mountain towards leeward side. This dry air flows downwards to inland areas right down the mountain. This process results in the formation of rain-shadow deserts. This process occurs in the mountains having range of thousands of kilometers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You describe the main sequence from coastal winds rising over the mountains to rain on the windward side and dry air reaching inland, so the central process is recognisable. However, the account is not fully accurate or sufficiently developed: the diagram shows rain falling above the windward slope and peak, not raindrops flowing down the mountain, and it does not say that the mountain range itself is thousands of kilometres long. That label indicates the horizontal distance shown. The response also lacks a clear overview that summarises the key contrast between the wet windward side and the dry leeward side. Finally, it contains 144 words, below the required 150. Add a concise overview and clarify the diagram’s scale and precipitation pattern.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The stages are presented in a generally sensible order, and linking phrases such as “When,” “then,” and “In the mean time” help show how one event leads to another. The response is nevertheless one continuous paragraph, so the overview and the sequence of details are not clearly separated. Some links are also repetitive, particularly the repeated use of “This” to begin sentences, and “This process” is used both for the final outcome and for the scale statement. Organise the response into an opening overview followed by a paragraph tracing the stages, and use clearer references such as “As a result” or “On the leeward side” to make relationships more precise.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “windward side,” “leeward side,” “moist air,” and “inland areas,” which makes the topic clear. However, the range is somewhat repetitive, with frequent use of “wind,” “mountain,” “flows,” and “process.” Several choices are inaccurate or awkward: “wind flowing through the sea” does not clearly express winds approaching from the sea, while “rain-shadow dessert” contains a spelling error that changes the word’s meaning. “Pushed to upward direction” is also an unnatural phrase. Aim for more precise process language and vary repeated nouns and verbs; for example, describe air as “rising,” “cooling,” and “descending,” and use “precipitation” where appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response includes both simple sentences and attempts at longer structures, such as “When this moist air rises up and up it starts to cool,” and the sequence remains understandable. However, errors recur in sentence construction and agreement. For example, “these clouds ultimately starts raining” has a plural subject with a singular verb, and “rain drops then fall … and flows downward” shifts from a plural subject to a singular verb. The phrase “is pushed to upward direction” also shows problems with article and preposition patterns. Some sentences rely on repeated simple structures rather than a controlled range of complex forms. Check subject–verb agreement and articles, and punctuate introductory clauses, as in “When the moist air rises, it cools.”

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