Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-29

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)

Rain -shadow deserts are uniqe geographical features present on the Earth. These deserts are formed in mountain areas. On one side of moutain sea is present. When winds collide with the mountain, winds are pushed upward and moist air chills as goes upward. This air then creates clouds. The cloudes are formed through the process of condensation. These clouds are responsible for the rainfall across the region. In comparison to moist air, dry air contiues to sweep over the moutain, moves downward and reaches the inland areas.Also there is no moisture content available in it. Due to downward flow of dry air it does not cool like moist air which cools down when reaced a certain height in the atmosphere. These lower places are transformed into rain-shadow deserts due to the presence of dry winds. The rain-shadow deserts are not warm areas because of precipitation on the other side of the mountains . The winds are not warm and temperature is lower.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You describe the main sequence from winds approaching the coast to rain falling on the mountain’s windward side, followed by dry air moving inland. This captures the central cause-and-effect process. However, the account is not fully accurate or complete: the diagram shows the air rising and cooling before clouds form, but the explanation of condensation is added rather than shown. More importantly, the claim that rain-shadow deserts “are not warm areas” and have lower temperatures is unsupported by the diagram, which gives no temperature information. The overview could also state more clearly that the mountain creates a wet windward side and a dry leeward region over a very large inland distance. Focus on the labelled stages and avoid adding conclusions the visual cannot verify.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The ideas are presented in a generally understandable order: coastal winds rise, clouds and rain form, and dry air continues inland. The contrast introduced by “In comparison to moist air” also helps signal the change from the windward to the leeward side. However, the response is one continuous paragraph, and the progression becomes less clear near the end, where the explanation of downward flow, desert formation, and temperature is repeated or loosely connected. Some links, such as “Also” and “Due to,” do not clearly show how the points relate. Organise the response into a brief overview and a sequenced description, using references such as “on the leeward side” to make each stage’s location explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a suitable range of process vocabulary, including “moist air,” “condensation,” “rainfall,” “dry winds,” and “rain-shadow deserts.” These terms help communicate the topic, and the contrast between moist and dry air is relevant. Some choices are imprecise or awkward, however: “winds collide with the mountain” is less accurate than describing winds being forced upwards, while “chills” and “lower places” are not the clearest descriptions of the process. There are also spelling errors in words such as “uniqe,” “moutain,” “cloudes,” and “contiues.” Aim for precise, diagram-based collocations and proofread spelling so that the otherwise adequate vocabulary is consistently clear.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including the time clause “When winds collide with the mountain” and the contrast between moist and dry air. The main stages are usually understandable, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “moist air chills as goes upward” is missing a subject in the second clause, and “The cloudes are formed” uses an unnecessary passive construction where “clouds form” is clearer. In “reached a certain height,” the verb form does not fit the surrounding present-tense explanation. Articles and sentence boundaries also need attention, as in “On one side of moutain sea is present.” Practise accurate present-simple process descriptions and check each clause for a subject and verb.

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