Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-09

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 6.5)

Dear chanpreet singh

I hope you are doing well, i m really happy to hear that you have been offered a place at the university where I studied. I would love to share my experience of finfing suitable accommodation.

When i was a student, I lived in a shared apartment near the university. It was a comfortable and affordable place with all the necessary facilities, such as a kitchen, loudary area and internet connnection. Moreover, it was only a ten-minute walk from my university, Which saved me both time and money.

Regarding your accommodation, I would recommend searching online through reliable websites and students accommodation groups on social media. You can also contact the university's accommodation office, as they can provide information about affordable and safe places to live. Another good option is to share an apartment with other students to reduce expernses.

However, you should avoid paying an advance money without checking the property. Always visit the accommodation, read the rental agreement carefully and check the facilities before making a final decision.

I hope my advice will helpful. Best of luck with your studies.

Best wishes,

sharan

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three requested points: you describe your shared apartment near the university, suggest online and university-based ways to search, and warn against paying before checking a property. The advice is relevant and the friendly purpose is clear. The description includes useful details such as the ten-minute walk and available facilities. To make the response more fully developed, explain how your own experience could guide your friend—for example, what made that apartment a good choice or what to check when comparing listings. The warning is sensible but brief; adding a specific example of a rental risk would strengthen it. The response already covers the task well, but some ideas need more support and detail.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The email has a clear progression: a friendly opening, your accommodation experience, recommendations, a warning, and a closing. Paragraphing helps the reader distinguish each part of the message, and linking expressions such as “Moreover,” “Regarding your accommodation,” and “However” make the relationships between ideas clear. The sequence is logical and easy to follow. To improve further, make transitions slightly more natural and vary how you connect advice, rather than relying mainly on explicit signposts. The opening and closing could also be integrated more smoothly with the body. Overall, the organisation is clear and cohesive, with only minor opportunities to make the flow less formulaic.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for this informal email, including relevant phrases such as “shared apartment,” “reliable websites,” “accommodation office,” and “rental agreement.” These choices communicate the advice clearly, and the tone is appropriate for writing to a friend. However, several spelling errors—“finfing,” “loudary,” “connnection,” and “expernses”—reduce accuracy. Some expressions are also unnatural or imprecise, such as “an advance money” and “students accommodation groups.” Aim to check spelling carefully and learn common collocations for housing and renting. More precise wording would make the advice sound more fluent, while retaining the accessible, friendly style you already establish.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more developed sentence forms, including a relative clause in “a place … which saved me both time and money” and a conditional-style warning about paying before checking a property. Most of the message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors are present. For example, “I m really happy” needs the contraction “I’m,” and “I hope my advice will helpful” needs “will be helpful.” Capitalisation is inconsistent in “i” and “Which,” and the greeting would be more correctly punctuated as “Dear Chanpreet Singh,”. Review auxiliary verbs, sentence-initial capital letters, and punctuation in email conventions. Greater accuracy across these details would strengthen an otherwise clear message.

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

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