Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-21

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 4.0)

The povided process illustrates the creation of rain-shadow deserts in an seven etapes from waves of sea to draining areas in thousands of kilometres

first of all the winds tend to shoreline than considerably increased in mountains after that consume air go up with cold winds .Secondly the cloudes sharped than rain started downpour.Thirdly the continuation of draining air acces montaines

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.5

You identify the general subject and mention several relevant stages, including winds approaching the coast, air rising, clouds forming, rain falling, and dry air moving inland. However, the account is extremely brief and does not provide a clear overview of how the process creates a desert on the leeward side. Some details are inaccurate or unclear: “draining areas” does not describe the inland rain-shadow desert, and the final stage of dry winds reaching inland areas is not clearly reported. The response also falls well short of the required 150 words, leaving most stages and their relationships unexplained. To improve, describe the full sequence accurately and state that moisture is lost on the windward side before dry air crosses the mountains and reaches inland areas.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

There is a basic attempt to put events in sequence, using “first of all,” “Secondly,” and “Thirdly,” and the reader can recognise that you are describing a process. However, the response is presented as one run-on passage, with little punctuation or clear separation between stages. The sequence also becomes difficult to follow in phrases such as “after that consume air go up with cold winds” and “The continuation of draining air acces montaines.” The linking words do not consistently clarify the relationships between steps, and the account stops before a clear conclusion. Use separate sentences, connect each stage with precise sequencing language, and finish by explaining where the dry winds arrive.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

You use some task-related vocabulary, including “winds,” “mountains,” “clouds,” and “rain,” and you attempt to describe movement and change. However, several word choices and spellings make the process hard to understand: “povided,” “etapes,” “cloudes sharped,” and “draining areas” are not suitable or accurate expressions here. “Consume air” also does not convey the idea of moist air rising and cooling. The vocabulary range is limited, and some attempted phrases do not communicate the intended stages clearly. Build a small set of accurate process terms—such as “moist air,” “rise,” “cool,” “precipitation,” “leeward,” and “dry winds”—and check spelling and collocations before writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response attempts to link stages in longer sentences, but grammatical control is inconsistent and the sentence structures are mostly simple or incomplete. For example, “the winds tend to shoreline than considerably increased in mountains” lacks a clear grammatical relationship between the wind and the mountains, while “after that consume air go up with cold winds” has unclear subject–verb structure. Articles and sentence boundaries are also missing or unreliable, as in “in an seven etapes.” These problems make several parts difficult to interpret. Practise writing one complete sentence for each stage, with a clear subject and verb—for example, “Moist air rises over the mountains and cools”—and use accurate articles, verb forms, and punctuation.

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