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 Process diagram illusrates how a specific kind of desert that is named rain-shadow desert is being created with sea, mountains and land.

Overall, there are seven (07) main steps through which a wind from coast travels and approaches across diffrent processes from sea to mountains then to land to make rain-shadow desert in the end at the inlands.

It usually starts with the winds flowing staright from sea reaches coast and elevates upwards by pushing aling steeped mountains as moist air rises and it becomes cloud when being cooled down, later those cloud receives rain falls at windward sides uptill now.

Later the dry air that left continues rushing over mountain at Leeward side and approaches towards the inland areas completing the whole seven steps along approx. thousands of kilometers of distance in total. That dry winds reaching inlands forms rain-shadow desert in the end we see in the illustration.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response covers the main stages and gives a clear overall account: winds move from the sea towards the mountains, rain falls on the windward side, and dry air continues inland to create the desert. The sequence is broadly accurate, including the cooling of moist air and the rain-shadow desert’s inland location. However, some details are less fully explained: the diagram specifically shows clouds forming after the air rises and cools, and the rain falling over the windward slope, while the response compresses these into “becomes cloud” and “those cloud receives rain falls.” The reference to “thousands of kilometers” is relevant, but it is a horizontal scale rather than a distance the process itself travels. A more precise account of these relationships would strengthen the summary.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The information is arranged in a generally logical sequence, moving from the sea and coast to the mountains and then inland. The opening overview also signals the process’s seven stages, and “Later” helps mark the transition from rainfall to the dry-air stage. However, the response is presented as one continuous block, so the overview and process details are not clearly separated into paragraphs. Some linking is also mechanical or unclear: “uptill now” does not express the intended relationship naturally, and “completing the whole seven steps along approx. thousands of kilometers” makes the sequence and scale difficult to follow. Use distinct overview and detail paragraphs, and connect each stage with precise time or cause-and-effect links.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The response uses relevant process vocabulary, including “moist air,” “windward,” “Leeward side,” and “inland areas,” which helps communicate the diagram’s subject. It also attempts more specific language such as “elevates” and “continues rushing.” However, spelling errors (“illusrates,” “diffrent,” “staright”) and awkward or inaccurate collocations reduce precision. Phrases such as “becomes cloud,” “cloud receives rain falls,” and “pushing aling steeped mountains” are difficult to interpret naturally. “Inlands” is also not the usual form for this meaning. Aim for accurate process collocations, for example, “air is forced up the mountain,” “clouds form,” and “precipitation falls on the windward slope,” while checking spelling and word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

There is an attempt to combine stages in longer sentences, using clauses such as “as moist air rises” and “when being cooled down,” alongside a clear overall statement. However, several sentence structures are faulty, and these sometimes make relationships between stages unclear. For example, “winds flowing staright from sea reaches coast” has a subject–verb agreement problem and an unclear clause structure; “those cloud receives rain falls” also has agreement and sentence-construction errors. Articles and plurals are inconsistent in phrases such as “becomes cloud” and “over mountain.” The final sentence, “That dry winds reaching inlands forms,” does not form a complete, grammatically controlled clause. Build shorter, complete sentences first, then add subordinate clauses while checking agreement, articles, and plural forms.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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