Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-24

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 picture below shows the information about how the rain shadow desert is formed.

initially the winds is approaching the coast it is left side of the mountain where the sea is present.the winds touched the mountain and pushes to upward direction.the winds contain water when it travells on the sea water.the air at high altitudes is very cool.the moist air becomes cool.then the cool water forms into the clouds in that high altitudes.the clouds is near to the top of the mountain.when the clouds reached top the water condenses into water and falling on the moutain.it stops when the water in the clouds got complete.the dry air continues to over mountain on leeward side.after that the wind reach the inland areas then the rain-shadow desert forms.this process happens upto thousands of kilometers.

the desert is formed because of the sand reached from the mountain there the plants will not grow thats why the desert forms.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You describe the main sequence from winds approaching the coast to dry air reaching inland, and you mention the windward and leeward sides. However, the account only partly fulfils the task because it lacks a clear overview of the process and includes unsupported explanations. For example, “the desert is formed because of the sand reached from the mountain” and the claim that plants do not grow are not shown in the diagram. Some stages are also unclear or inaccurately described: rain falls from clouds over the mountain, rather than water “falling on the mountain” after the clouds reach the top, and the diagram does not say that rainfall stops when the clouds’ water is complete. Focus on the diagram’s stages and summarise how the mountain creates a dry inland area.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response follows a broadly chronological order, using “initially,” “then,” and “after that” to guide the reader through the process. This gives it some organisation, but progression is weakened by the lack of paragraphing and by sentences running together without consistent punctuation. Several links are also unclear: “It stops when the water in the clouds got complete” does not clearly identify what stops, and the final explanation about sand and plants shifts away from the process without a transition. Group the stages into a clear sequence, use full stops to separate each step, and finish with a concise overview of the relationship between rainfall on the windward side and dry conditions inland.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant process vocabulary, including “moist air,” “clouds,” “condenses,” “leeward side,” and “inland areas,” which helps communicate the topic. However, the range is limited and several phrases are imprecise or repetitive, such as “the winds contain water,” “cool water forms into the clouds,” and “the water in the clouds got complete.” These choices make parts of the process difficult to interpret. There are also spelling errors, including “travells” and “kilometers,” and some word combinations are unnatural. Aim for precise terms such as “moisture,” “rises,” “condenses,” and “precipitation,” and avoid repeating “cool” where a more exact description is available.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts to describe a sequence using both simple sentences and clauses linked with “when” and “after,” but the range is limited and errors occur frequently. Subject–verb agreement is inconsistent in “the winds is approaching” and “the clouds is near,” while tense and verb forms are faulty in “pushes to upward direction” and “the wind reach.” Sentence boundaries and capitalisation are also poorly controlled, with several sentences joined together, for example “...is present.the winds touched...”. These errors sometimes make the relationships between stages unclear. Practise accurate present-simple descriptions of general processes, check agreement between subjects and verbs, and use full stops and capital letters consistently.

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