Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-10

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 5.5)

Dear Vishv,

I am perfectly fine. I hope you are doing well too. First of all, congrets for getting offer latter form SFU university. As you have concern about the accommodation. when i was in university, i kown how had to find accommodation for first time but do not worry i will help you to find the apartment.

When i was a student, i used to live near by metrotown sky-tarin station. it is one if the best eara for living. i know it is bit far form university but you can take bus for the station. you do not have to change bus agian and agian. However, that are many ways to find a good apartment or a house but there is one of the best webside called vancover housing, you can find 1000 of house and new flats in good price.

Rhere are some agents, which you have to be careful with them. when they know you are new in town they are trying to reach you by mail or call. I suggest that ignor them and try to find accommodation for this webside.

Best of luck for you new beginnig

our best friend

devarsh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three requested points: you describe living near Metrotown SkyTrain station, recommend a housing website, and warn about agents who contact newcomers. The personal, friendly tone also suits an email to a friend. The accommodation description is relevant, but the transport detail—“you can take bus for the station”—is unclear, and the recommendation would be more useful if you explained how to assess listings or suggested checking university housing services. The warning about agents is present, though “ignore them” is broad and does not explain how to recognise a risky offer. Develop these practical details and make the advice more precise to cover each part more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The email has a recognisable structure: an opening, a paragraph about your former accommodation and a website, then a warning and sign-off. Sequencing words such as “First of all,” “However,” and “Best of luck” help guide the reader. Overall, the ideas are arranged coherently, but some links are mechanical or unclear. For example, “However” does not clearly contrast with the preceding recommendation, and “for this webside” leaves the reference uncertain. The accommodation and website information could be separated or connected with a clearer explanation. Use paragraphing to give each requested point its own focus, and make pronouns and linking phrases refer unmistakably to the intended idea.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “accommodation,” “apartment,” “agents,” and “station.” However, the range is limited and several spelling and word-choice errors make the email less clear or natural, such as “offer latter,” “eara,” “webside,” and “beginnig.” Some phrases are also awkward, including “find 1000 of house” and “good price.” These errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the overall message, but they reduce precision and control. Build accuracy with common housing collocations and check spelling carefully; more natural expressions would make your advice sound clearer and more fluent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentence forms, for example, “I know it is bit far from university but you can take bus for the station.” The main message is generally understandable, but some grammatical errors affect clarity and naturalness. Examples include “As you have concern about the accommodation,” which is an incomplete sentence, and “when i was in university,” where the clause needs appropriate capitalisation and article use. There are also errors in sentence boundaries and agreement, as in “However, that are many ways.” Practise forming complete clauses, using articles and verb agreement, and punctuating sentence openings. More accurate control of these patterns would make your advice easier to follow.

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

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