Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-20

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 5.0)

The diagram below illustate the sequential process by which a specific known as a rain shadow derert is formed.

overall, the process is driven by the movement of moist maritine air over a mountain range. this creates heavy precipation on the side facing the ocean and entirely dry leading to desertification.

The process are showing a mountain of moist maritine air over a starting to sea upon winds approch cost these winds facing to the high upwards along slopes. while then forcing to winds pushed upwars that stages of higher altitude of touching the moist air rises and cools however cousing condensation and the subsquent formation of clouds. this accumulation of moisture eventually results in heavily rainfall which is move to deposited entirely on the window side of the mountain.

once the air passes over the mountain at peak stages of dry air continues over mountain and lost of moisture then moving to downward formed into the dry winds reach inland areas the highly precipation form accuring ultimately creating for a rain shadow desert.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the central process: moist air comes from the sea, rises over the mountains, cools and produces clouds and rain on the windward side, while drier air continues inland and contributes to a rain-shadow desert. This covers the main stages and gives a relevant overall summary. However, several details are unclear or inaccurate, especially the description of what happens after the air crosses the mountain: “the highly precipation form” suggests rainfall inland, whereas the diagram shows dry winds reaching the inland area and the desert forming there. Some stages are also repeated or difficult to distinguish, so the explanation does not report the sequence consistently. Make the contrast between the rainy windward side and dry leeward side explicit, and describe each stage once in clear, factual terms.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has an overall structure, with an introductory sentence, an overview, and two paragraphs describing the process. It also uses some sequencing language, such as “eventually” and “once the air passes over the mountain,” which helps signal order. However, progression within the body is often difficult to follow because several stages are compressed into long, unclear sentences. For example, “while then forcing to winds pushed upwars that stages of higher altitude” does not clearly connect the upward movement, cooling, and cloud formation. The final paragraph also repeats the dry-air stage before reaching the desert. Use shorter sentences and organise the stages in a straightforward sequence, with clear links such as “as a result” and “after crossing the peak.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You attempt relevant process vocabulary, including “moist air,” “mountain range,” “condensation,” “formation of clouds,” and “rain shadow desert.” These choices show awareness of the topic, but the range is limited and many spelling and word-choice errors make the description difficult to understand. Examples include “illustate,” “derert,” “maritine,” “precipation,” and “window side”; the intended terms appear to be “illustrate,” “desert,” “maritime,” “precipitation,” and “windward side.” Some combinations are also unnatural, such as “entirely dry leading to desertification” and “heavily rainfall.” Build a reliable set of process terms and check spelling and collocation, especially for the key contrast between rainfall on the windward side and dry conditions inland.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

There are attempts to use complex relationships, including “by which” and “once the air passes over the mountain,” but control of sentence structure is weak. Frequent errors in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries make several stages hard to interpret. For instance, “The process are showing” has incorrect agreement and an unsuitable verb form, while “these winds facing to the high upwards along slopes” lacks a clear grammatical structure. Capitalisation and punctuation are also inconsistent, including the lowercase “overall” after the opening paragraph. Practise writing one complete sentence for each stage, checking that every sentence has a subject and a correctly formed verb. Then add subordinate clauses only when the basic sentence is clear.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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