Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-11

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 depicts the stages how the rain-shadow desert is formed.

Overall, It starts with the winds that aproach coast through the sea upward till it forms into the moist air. There the clouds are made and after that rain falls.Furthermore, the dry air continues over mountain and leen toward the dry winds until they reach on the inland areas.

Initially, Winds start from the sea and move toward the coast where they are pushed upward to the windward side at that stage the moist air raises and cools process take place which alllow the cloud to formed.Once the clouds are formed the rain falls.

After the rainfall has occured, dry air continues over the mountain toward leen side and reach to dry winds inland areas.This is how the rain shadow desert is formed. These stages cover the area of thousands of kilometers in order of creating a rain shadow desert.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover the main sequence: winds arrive from the sea, rise on the windward side, cool and form clouds, rain falls, and dry air crosses the mountains towards inland areas. This gives the reader a generally accurate account of how the desert forms. However, some stages are less fully or clearly described. For example, the overview says the winds move “upward till it forms into the moist air,” which blurs the distinction between the rising wind and the moist air cooling. The final explanation also does not clearly connect the dry winds reaching inland with the formation of the rain-shadow desert. To strengthen the response, state the overall contrast more precisely: moisture and rainfall occur on the windward side, while dry air descends or continues over the leeward side, creating arid inland conditions.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an overview followed by descriptions of the earlier and later stages. Sequencing expressions such as “Initially,” “Once,” and “After the rainfall” help show the process order. However, progression is not consistently clear because some sentences combine several stages without clear boundaries. The overview’s “Furthermore” does not introduce a separate point, and the final paragraph repeats information already given rather than adding a distinct concluding detail. References such as “There” and “that stage” are also not always precise. Organise the stages in a straightforward sequence, using one paragraph for the overview and one or two for the process, and use clear links such as “As a result” only where the relationship is explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “windward side,” “moist air,” “clouds,” “rain falls,” and “inland areas,” so the topic is generally understandable. There are also attempts at more specific wording, such as “continues over mountain.” However, several inaccurate or misspelled choices reduce precision: “leen” appears to mean “leeward,” “aproach” is misspelled, and “the cloud to formed” is an awkward word combination. Phrases such as “clouds are made” and “dry winds until they reach on the inland areas” are less natural for describing a diagram. Aim for accurate process collocations and check spelling; for example, use “clouds form,” “rainfall occurs,” and “dry air moves across the leeward side.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including clauses beginning “where” and “Once,” and the sequence can usually be followed. However, errors in sentence construction and verb forms recur. In “the stages how the rain-shadow desert is formed,” the noun phrase needs a clearer construction, such as “the stages in the formation of.” The clause “the moist air raises and cools process take place” has problems with verb form and agreement, while “the rain falls.Furthermore” needs sentence punctuation and spacing. There are also missing or inconsistent articles and plural forms, as in “over mountain.” Practise building accurate process sentences with a clear subject and verb, and check each sentence for agreement, articles, and punctuation before finishing.

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