Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-25

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 illustration represents the step by step process of the formation of rain-shadow deserts.

Overall, the formation of rain-shadow takes palce where sea, a long range of mountains and desert meet in one line. The whole process includes 7 major steps

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

You identify the topic and offer a basic overall statement that the process involves seven steps, which shows some awareness of the diagram. However, the response does not describe any of those stages: it omits the winds approaching the coast, rising and cooling, cloud formation, rainfall, and the movement of dry air inland. The claim that the sea, mountains and desert “meet in one line” is also not a clear or accurate summary of their arrangement. The required minimum length is not met, and the very limited coverage leaves the main features largely unreported. To improve, give an overview of the windward-to-leeward sequence, then describe the key stages and where they occur.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response has a simple, understandable order: it introduces the illustration and then gives an overall statement. The phrase “Overall” signals a shift to the summary, and the reference to “7 major steps” provides a possible organising idea. However, the response ends before developing that sequence, so there is no progression through the stages or clear relationship between them. The second sentence also combines several locations without explaining how they connect. Use separate sentences or a short paragraph to follow the process from the sea, up the windward slope, and over the mountains to the inland desert. Sequencing words such as “first,” “as a result,” and “finally” would help make the progression explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The vocabulary is relevant to the topic, with terms such as “formation,” “sea,” “mountains,” and “desert,” and “rain-shadow” shows an attempt to use the diagram’s specific terminology. However, the range is very limited because the response contains little description of the process. “Step by step process” is understandable but repetitive in meaning, while “meet in one line” is an imprecise way to describe the locations. There is also a spelling error in “palce.” To improve, use precise process vocabulary from the diagram, such as “moist air,” “windward side,” “precipitation,” “leeward side,” and “dry winds,” and choose accurate phrases to describe movement and location.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response uses basic sentence forms that are generally understandable. The opening sentence, “The illustration represents the step by step process,” is a complete statement, and the second sentence attempts to provide an overall summary. However, the range is narrow, with no developed sentences explaining cause, sequence, or contrast. There is also a missing article in “formation of rain-shadow” (write “the formation of a rain-shadow desert”), and the final sentence lacks a full stop. The phrase “The whole process includes 7 major steps” is grammatically simple and does not show how the stages relate. Practise combining clauses with structures such as “As moist air rises, it cools and forms clouds,” while checking articles and punctuation.

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