Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-18

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 illustrate how a particular type of desesrt, which known as a rain-shadow desert, is formed.

Overall, for a rain-shadow desert to be formed, there is seven steps, starting when the winds come from the sea and approach coast, and there is a natural barier like mountains which make the wind to be pushed upwards along its windward side. These mountains separate the coast and the inland ereas. Eventually the process ends by dry wind reach inland ereas.

First of all, winds approach the coast and pushed upward due to mountain side. When the air reaches a particular level, it became moist and get cools, then the clouds are formed, and subsequentely the rain falls down.

On the other side of the mountain, dry air continues to descend along the leeward side of the mountain, and eventually dry winds reach the inland ereas after travelling thousands of kilometres from the sea til it reaches the inland ereas.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You cover the main sequence and give a clear overview: winds arrive from the sea, rise over the mountains, produce rain on the windward side, and continue inland as dry air. This captures the diagram’s central cause-and-effect process. The description is not fully precise in places, however. The air is already moist as it rises and cools; it does not become moist at that stage, as your sentence “it became moist and get cools” suggests. You also describe the air as descending on the leeward side, whereas the diagram only states that dry air continues over the mountain. The overview and sequence are relevant, but greater accuracy and fuller reporting of the labelled stages would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an overview followed by stages on the windward and leeward sides. Sequencing phrases such as “First of all,” “then,” and “eventually” help the reader follow the process. However, progression is not consistently smooth: the overview repeats details that are then given again, and the final sentence repeats “inland areas” while combining several stages in a long, awkward sequence. Some links are also unclear, particularly “On the other side of the mountain,” which could more precisely introduce the leeward stage. Organise the stages in shorter, clearly connected sentences and avoid repeating information to make the progression more coherent.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “windward side,” “leeward side,” “moist,” and “rain-shadow desert,” which helps communicate the diagram’s subject. The range is adequate, but several word-choice, collocation, and spelling problems reduce precision: “natural barier” is better expressed as “mountain barrier,” “rain falls down” is less natural than “rain falls,” and “desesrt” and “ereas” are misspelled. “Particular level” is also vague for describing air rising over a mountain. Aim for accurate, natural process language and check spelling carefully. More precise verbs such as “rises,” “cools,” and “continues inland” would make the stages clearer.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including a relative clause in the opening and a longer sequence joined with “when” and “then.” However, control is uneven, and errors occur in basic sentence patterns as well as longer constructions. For example, “The process diagram illustrate” has subject–verb disagreement, while “there is seven steps” should use a plural construction. In “winds approach the coast and pushed upward,” the verb forms do not match, and “it became moist and get cools” contains several tense and verb-form problems. These errors sometimes make relationships between stages harder to follow. Practise consistent present-tense descriptions and check agreement and verb forms when combining clauses.

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