Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-16

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 illustrates the formation of rain-shadow deserts in 7 steps.

The process starts with the winds approach coast and ends with the dry winds reach inland areas. The windward side, where the moist air rises and cools and the leeward side where the dry air present.

The right side of the Mountain is the five step process. The winds from the sea approaches the coast of the mountains. The wind pushed upwards and reaches just above the middle of the mountains where the moist air rises and cools which then makes the clouds. The 5th step where the rain falls starts at the top of the mountains.

The left side of the mountain is two step process. On the other side, the air dries and continues to start falling passing the middle till reaches it's lowest level. The last step is when the dry winds reach the inland areas, that's where the rain shadow deserts formed.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the diagram as a seven-step process and describe its broad movement from coastal winds to an inland rain-shadow desert. You also include key features such as rising, cooling air, cloud formation and rainfall. However, the account is only partly accurate and some stages are unclear: “The right side of the Mountain is the five step process” misplaces the sequence, while the diagram shows the windward side facing the sea and the leeward side inland. The description of air “falling” to its lowest level is not shown; instead, dry air continues over the mountain and dry winds reach inland. A clearer overview of the windward rainfall and the dry leeward region, followed by a more accurate account of the stages, would make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic sequence, beginning with the coastal winds and ending with the desert, and the paragraph breaks show an attempt to group the process. However, the progression is not consistently clear because the second paragraph calls the mountain’s right side a “five step process” and the third describes the “left side” as a two-step process, which conflicts with the diagram’s orientation and makes the stages difficult to follow. Linking phrases such as “which then” and “On the other side” are used, but references are sometimes unclear. Organise the account in the diagram’s actual order, using one paragraph for the overall pattern and another for the stages, with clear transitions such as “As a result” and “After crossing the mountain.”

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “moist air,” “clouds,” “rain falls,” “dry winds,” and “inland areas,” so the reader can generally recognise the topic and stages. There is also an attempt to use more specific terms such as “windward side” and “leeward side.” However, some phrasing is imprecise or unnatural, including “the air dries,” “the five step process,” and “rain shadow deserts formed.” More accurate collocations would help describe the diagram without ambiguity: for example, say that air “loses moisture” and that a desert “forms” in the rain shadow. Continue building a range of process verbs and use the diagram’s labels consistently to improve precision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including a relative clause in “the moist air rises and cools which then makes the clouds.” However, control is uneven, and several sentence structures are incomplete or contain faulty verb forms. For example, “The windward side … and the leeward side where the dry air present” lacks a main verb in its second part, while “The process starts with the winds approach coast” does not use a grammatical clause after “with.” There are also agreement and tense-form problems in “winds … approaches” and “where the rain shadow deserts formed.” Practise complete clauses and consistent present-simple descriptions, such as “The winds approach the coast” and “dry air continues over the mountain.”

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