Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-23

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 illustration gives information about the deserts of the rain shadow.Overall, rainshadow-desert initiates from winds of coast and they pushed upwards to make moist air, rises and cools to make clouds form and cause rain, which dry air on the mountains to dry winds to reach inland areas.

It is quite evident from the diagram that how winds approach coast moves towards winds pushed upwards for the formation of rain.However, the third step for rain formation is moist air rises and cools and directly effects the windward side . In addition, clouds form after the winward side and they cause rain falls which automatically dry air and keep the air continues over the mountain.

Furthermore, leeward side sharply decrease and dry winds reach inland areas on the land . The rain-shadow desert process from sea coast to inland with thousands of kilometers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main sequence from coastal winds to inland dry winds and mention the rain-shadow desert, so the response is relevant to the diagram. However, the overview is unclear and several stages are not accurately explained: for example, “make moist air” reverses the process, since the air is already moist before it rises and cools, while “leeward side sharply decrease” does not describe a labelled feature or a clear change. The account also omits the key contrast between rain falling on the windward side and dry air continuing over the mountains to the leeward side. At 142 words, it is below the required 150, and the limited development leaves parts of the process only partially covered. Add a precise overview and explain each stage accurately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic progression, moving from the coast through the mountain stages to the inland desert, and paragraph breaks provide some organisation. However, the sequence is not consistently easy to follow because several links between stages are unclear. For instance, “which dry air on the mountains to dry winds” does not show how the rain leads to air continuing over the mountain, and “after the winward side” gives an imprecise relationship between the clouds and the mountain. Connectors such as “However” and “Furthermore” are used, but they do not always express the intended relationship. Organise the description into a clear overview followed by stages in order, and use explicit links such as “as a result” or “on the leeward side” where appropriate.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use several relevant terms from the diagram, including “coast,” “moist air,” “windward side,” “leeward side,” and “inland areas,” which gives the response a minimally adequate topic vocabulary. However, word choice and collocation are often inaccurate or repetitive, making some meanings difficult to interpret. “Deserts of the rain shadow” and “rainshadow-desert initiates” are not natural ways to name the process, while “make clouds form” and “cause rain falls” are awkward. There are also spelling and form issues, such as “winward” and “kilometers” (the latter is acceptable in American English, but consistency matters). Use standard process language such as “a rain-shadow desert forms,” “clouds develop,” and “precipitation falls.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts longer sentences and some sequencing structures, but control is limited, and errors frequently make relationships between ideas difficult to understand. For example, “Overall, rainshadow-desert initiates from winds of coast and they pushed upwards” has problems with articles, verb form, and sentence construction. In “moist air rises and cools and directly effects the windward side,” the clause is not clearly connected to the preceding sentence, and “they cause rain falls” uses an incorrect verb pattern. Punctuation also needs attention, including missing spaces after full stops and inconsistent sentence boundaries. Practise writing short, accurate process sentences first, then combine them with clauses such as “As the air rises, it cools and forms clouds.”

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