Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-08

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

Your friend has been offered a place on a course at the university where you studied. He/She would like your advice about finding a place to live.

Write an email to your friend. In your email

• describe where you lived when you were a student at the university
• recommend the best way for him/her to look for accommodation
• warn him/her of mistakes students make when choosing accommodation

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your email as follows:

Dear ..........,

Student answer (Band 4.5)

Dear Aman,

I hope you're doing well! and i'm very happy for you that you secured a place in your desired program at university.

As you're seeking my advice on an accommodation. I'm gonna suggest you to have a pyaing guest apartment instead of hostel at university. When I used to study there, I would live in an apartment nearby. It often took me 5 minutes to reach at the university.

Well, there're several possible ways to look for an accommodation, firstly you visit rental home agency, secondly search it online, and the most prominent way that I can provide the contact there i u

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.5

You establish the purpose of the email and give one relevant detail about your student accommodation: you lived in a nearby apartment and it took five minutes to reach the university. However, the response addresses the task only partially. The recommendation is incomplete: “a pyaing guest apartment instead of hostel” is not clearly explained, and the promised contact or best search method ends unfinished (“the contact there i u”). Most importantly, you do not warn Aman about mistakes to avoid when choosing accommodation. The response also contains 105 words, below the required 150, so the advice and all three task points remain underdeveloped. Add specific search steps and practical cautions, such as checking the contract, location, and extra costs before paying.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is some basic organisation: you begin with a friendly greeting, then move from your own experience to advice about finding accommodation. This gives the reader a general sense of the email’s purpose. However, the progression is not completed, because the final sentence breaks off at “the contact there i u,” leaving the advice unfinished. The sequence “firstly… secondly…” signals a list, but the points are not developed, and “Well” does little to connect the ideas. Paragraphing is limited, and the opening sentence joins two thoughts awkwardly. Use separate paragraphs for your experience, search recommendations, and warnings, and finish each point with a clear explanation.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some vocabulary relevant to accommodation and student life, including “apartment,” “nearby,” “rental home agency,” and “university.” The friendly opening is also suitable for an email to a friend. However, the range is limited, and several choices or forms make the meaning less clear, such as “pyaing guest apartment,” “hostel at university,” and “search it online.” The unfinished phrase “the contact there i u” further prevents the reader from understanding what you intend to recommend. Aim for precise, natural expressions such as “a room in a shared apartment,” “university halls,” and “search accommodation listings online.” Check spelling and word forms carefully, and choose phrases that clearly distinguish the accommodation options.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentences, and the main idea in “It often took me 5 minutes to reach at the university” can be understood. However, control is inconsistent, particularly in sentence boundaries, articles, and verb patterns. “As you're seeking my advice on an accommodation” is a fragment rather than a complete sentence, while “I’m gonna suggest you to have” uses an awkward verb construction. In “firstly you visit… secondly search it online,” the list lacks consistent sentence structure and punctuation. The opening also joins “I hope…” and “I’m very happy…” incorrectly. Practise complete sentences and standard forms such as “I suggest that you look for…” and “It took me five minutes to get to the university.”

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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