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 diagram elaborates the process of the formation of rain-shadow desert from a simple desert. Overall, it includes various stages that actually start from a winds and then clouds form later, turned into raining that resulted in an rain-shadow desert.

To begin with, it can be seen that there is a mountains situated near the sea shore, winds through sea approach coast, where it pushed to the upward. At third step, winds turned into cool and become moisturous. After the creation of clouds almost at the tip of mountains, there is heavy raining. That rain give rise to the dry air.

Furthermore, dry air continues over mountains. Consequently, air reach to the bottom of the mountain after that these winds become part of inland areas, which is commonly known as rain-shadow desert. However, this process took a lot of time as air travel thousands of kilometers from sea to the inland area.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main sequence from coastal winds to inland desert and include the key stages of uplift, cooling, cloud formation, rainfall and dry air crossing the mountains. The overview also recognises that the process ends in a rain-shadow desert. However, some details are unclear or inaccurate: “winds turned into cool” does not explain that moist air rises and cools, and “That rain give rise to the dry air” oversimplifies the transition. The diagram shows dry air continuing over the mountain before dry winds reach inland areas; it does not show that the process takes a long time. To strengthen the response, describe the windward and leeward sides and explain the sequence more precisely, without adding unsupported claims.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction and overview are followed by two paragraphs describing the stages. Sequencing expressions such as “To begin with,” “At third step,” and “Furthermore” help the reader follow the process. However, some links are mechanical or do not express the relationship accurately. For example, “Consequently” introduces the air reaching the mountain’s bottom, but the preceding sentence does not clearly establish that cause. References such as “it” in “where it pushed to the upward” are also unclear. Use more precise stage-to-stage links and make each sentence’s subject explicit, so the progression is coherent without relying mainly on formulaic transitions.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “approach,” “clouds,” “dry air,” “inland areas,” and “rain-shadow desert,” which makes the topic recognisable. There are also attempts at more specific wording, such as “tip of mountains” and “thousands of kilometers.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, including “moisturous,” “heavy raining,” “winds through sea,” and “turned into raining.” These choices sometimes make the process difficult to interpret precisely. Aim for standard terms from the diagram, such as “moist air,” “precipitation,” “windward side,” and “leeward side,” and check word forms and natural combinations before using less familiar vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a relative clause in “which is commonly known as rain-shadow desert” and a time clause beginning “as air travel…”. However, control is inconsistent, and errors occur in basic sentence patterns as well as longer structures. Examples include “there is a mountains situated,” “where it pushed to the upward,” and “That rain give rise,” which show problems with agreement, verb forms and sentence construction. Articles and plurals are also unreliable in phrases such as “an rain-shadow desert.” These errors can make relationships between stages unclear. Practise accurate subject–verb patterns and past or present passive forms, then build longer sentences around those secure structures.

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