Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-01

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 5.0)

The picture illustrates the how rain-shadow is formed in desert.

Overall, the diagram information tells the formation of rain-shadow. There are seven steps involved in this proces of formation. The wind approach coast upward the sea pushed the moist up then moist air rose and cooled after that cloud formed. The cloud was filled with moist and air and ready to rain fall. when the rain has started from the above of the mountains dryed air continues over the mountains through the steep side of leeward after sometime the air reached inland areas somehow, desert land absorbed it. The shadow appears on the land its called the rain-shadow desert.

Finaly, the image clearly shows the formation of rainy shadow on the desert. In this process seven steps fulfil this formation for example, wind push the air and then cloud formed after that rain fall then dryed sir reached at the land.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the process as the formation of a rain-shadow desert and mention its seven stages, including rising moist air, cloud formation, rainfall, and dry air moving inland. This gives the response relevant coverage of the diagram. However, the overview mostly repeats that there are seven steps rather than clearly summarising the key cause-and-effect pattern: moist air from the sea rises and loses moisture on the windward side, leaving dry air to descend or continue inland on the leeward side. Some details are unclear or unsupported, such as the desert “absorbed” the air and the shadow appearing on the land. To strengthen the report, describe the windward and leeward sides accurately and explain how this sequence creates the dry inland area.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is an attempt to organise the response with an opening, an overview, and a final summary, and the stages are generally presented in sequence. However, the progression is difficult to follow because the main process is compressed into a long, loosely connected passage: “The wind approach coast upward the sea pushed the moist up then moist air rose and cooled…” The repeated concluding statements also add little new information. Linking words such as “after that” and “then” are used, but the connections between stages are sometimes unclear, and punctuation does not consistently separate ideas. Use distinct paragraphs for the overview and process description, then give each stage a clear connection to the next without repeating the same summary.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “moist air,” “mountains,” “leeward,” and “rain-shadow desert,” which helps identify the subject. However, the range is limited and several word choices or forms make the process hard to interpret. For example, “the cloud was filled with moist and air” and “desert land absorbed it” do not express the diagram’s meaning clearly; “rainy shadow” is also not the appropriate term. Spelling errors such as “proces,” “Finaly,” and “dryed” further reduce accuracy. Build a small set of precise process terms and use them consistently, such as “windward side,” “precipitation,” “dry air,” and “inland region.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts to combine stages using clauses, as in “when the rain has started… dryed air continues,” but complex sentences are often faulty and the range of sentence structures remains limited. Errors in tense, agreement, and sentence construction occur throughout: “The wind approach coast,” “cloud formed,” and “the air reached inland areas somehow” do not consistently describe the process in the present simple. Some sentences also lack clear grammatical connections, particularly the long sequence beginning “The wind approach coast upward the sea…”. Capitalisation and punctuation are inconsistent, including the lowercase “when” after a full stop. Practise accurate present-simple descriptions and divide the process into shorter, complete sentences before attempting more complex links.

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