Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-15

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 dislapy the process of formation of rain-shadow desert on leeward side of mountain.

Overall, this process consists of seven stages starts from the approach of moisture wind at coast and end at inland areas. Firstly, wind reach at coast and the it becomes cooler and cooler as it reaches to mountain and start to move upward. As a result, this wind change into clouds as it reach to windward side and rain fall occur.

On other hand, when it reach on the leeward side of mountain, it's moistrisy starts to decrease. When it reach to inland areas it become dry. As a result, no rain fall occur at leeward side.In conclusion, the diagram displays the role of mountains in the occurance of rain-shadow desert on leeward side of the mountain. Which occurs thousands of kilometers away from coast where rain fall occurs.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the central process and give an overall statement that it has seven stages, moving from coastal winds to an inland desert. You also distinguish the windward side, where rain falls, from the leeward side, where the air becomes dry. However, several stages are unclear or inaccurately described: the diagram shows moist air rising and cooling before clouds form, whereas you say the wind becomes cooler as it reaches the mountain and “change[s] into clouds.” The final stages—dry air crossing the mountain and dry winds reaching inland—need clearer reporting. The response is also six words below the required minimum. Add a little more precise detail about the sequence and the desert’s inland location.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable overall order: an introduction, a broad overview, and a description of the windward and leeward sides. Connectors such as “Overall,” “Firstly,” “On other hand,” and “As a result” help signal stages and contrast. However, the progression is not consistently clear because several steps are compressed into long sentences, and the sequence from rising air to cloud formation and rainfall is difficult to follow. The final sentence beginning “Which occurs…” is a fragment and repeats the conclusion rather than adding a new stage. Use separate sentences or paragraphs for the windward and leeward processes, and make each connector express the relationship between stages accurately.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “windward side,” “leeward side,” “inland areas,” and “rain-shadow desert,” which helps communicate the topic. However, the range is limited and some word choices or forms are inaccurate, such as “moistrisy,” “occurance,” and “wind change into clouds.” Repetition of “reach,” “side,” and “rain fall” also makes the description less precise. Choose standard process terms such as “moisture,” “condenses,” “precipitation,” and “dry air,” and vary verbs to describe movement and change. More accurate collocations would make the stages easier to understand and would show better control of vocabulary for describing a natural process.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, using clauses such as “as it reaches to mountain” and “when it reach on the leeward side.” However, errors are frequent and sometimes make relationships between stages difficult to follow. Examples include subject–verb agreement (“wind reach,” “it become”), missing or incorrect articles (“at coast,” “to mountain”), and faulty sentence construction (“and the it becomes”). The final “Which occurs…” is an incomplete sentence, and punctuation is inconsistent, including the missing space after “side.” Use a reliable pattern for each stage—for example, “As the moist air rises, it cools and forms clouds”—and check agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries.

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