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 illustrates the formation of rain-shadow desert.

Overall, The have different steps to become the rain-shadow desert. It includes the Sea, Mountains and Inland as the main foundation. And from the Sea to the Inland it follows thousands of kilometers.

Firstly the Winds which approach the coastal sea line the pressure pushes the wind towards upside when it mixed with the air it became moisture and becomes cool. Secondly the moist air takes the shapes of cloud at the point called Windward side on the Mountain. After reaching at the top the Rain starts to fall from there the Final steps follows from the peak of the Mountain the Dry air continues over the mountain from a point called Leeward side from there Dry winds reach inland areas and then become the Rain-shadow desert.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the process and include several key stages: winds approach the coast, air rises and cools, clouds form, rain falls, and dry air moves inland to create the desert. However, the account is brief and some details are unclear or inaccurate. For example, the diagram shows moist air rising and cooling as it is pushed up the mountain; it does not say that the wind becomes moist by mixing with air. The overview also lists the sea, mountains and inland as a “foundation” rather than summarising the main cause-and-effect pattern. The response is 15 words below the required minimum, which limits how fully you can report the stages. Develop the overview and explain the windward-to-leeward transition more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is a basic sequence, signalled by “Firstly” and “Secondly,” and the reader can follow the broad movement from the sea towards the inland desert. The opening overview is separated from the process description, which gives the response some organisation. However, the stages are compressed into one long paragraph, and the final sentence joins many events together, making the progression difficult to track. Connectors such as “After reaching at the top” and “from there” are not always clear about which stage or location they refer to. Use separate paragraphs for the overview and the sequence, and link each stage with precise transitions such as “as a result,” “once,” and “on the leeward side.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “Windward side,” “Leeward side,” “moist air,” “dry winds,” and “Rain-shadow desert,” so the subject is generally recognisable. However, the range is limited and several phrases are awkward or imprecise, such as “main foundation,” “takes the shapes of cloud,” and “the pressure pushes the wind towards upside.” These choices sometimes make the process harder to understand. Aim for accurate process language and natural collocations: for example, describe winds as being “forced upwards,” air as “cooling,” and clouds as “forming.” Also use consistent spelling conventions, such as “kilometres,” and avoid unnecessary capital letters in common nouns.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts to combine stages using clauses, for example, “when it mixed with the air” and “After reaching at the top,” but complex sentences are often faulty and the range of sentence structures is limited. Errors include the incomplete construction “Overall, The have different steps,” the tense and agreement problem in “it became moisture and becomes cool,” and the awkward clause “After reaching at the top the Rain starts to fall.” Capitalisation and punctuation also interfere with sentence control, particularly in “Overall, The” and the long final sentence. Use clear present-tense passive forms for a process, such as “The winds are forced upwards” and “Rain falls on the windward side,” and divide the sequence into shorter, grammatically complete sentences.

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