Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-13

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 6.0)

Dear Dhrumit,

First of all congratulations, for getting addmission on the york university. I have spent best three years of my life in York university which taught me valubale life lesson. During my course I stay just 400 meters from the university which was the walking distance as I was saving alomost $400 on monthly rent by not living on campus. So I would recommand you to live in 450 Fountainhead Road, which will cost you $1200 1 Bedroom and it is also sharable with friends. Best thing living here is everthing including walmart, shoppers drugmart, restaurents, subway station as well as York university is at walking distance. Most important thing, try not to sign up for free 2 month programs for in campus rental as it save few hundred dollars, but hydro and electricity cost is much higher. Also if you have car let the property manager know in advance for the basement parking as winter strom makes car engine blocked.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You address all three requested points and maintain a clear, friendly purpose. You describe living about 400 metres from the university, recommend a specific nearby property, and give practical cautions about rental offers, utility costs, and winter parking. The details about nearby shops and transport also help your friend picture the location. Your advice is generally extended with reasons, such as saving on rent and avoiding higher utility costs. To make the response more fully developed, explain how your friend should search for accommodation—for example, which university housing service or rental websites to use and what to check before committing. The warning about a “free 2 month” programme is also unclear, so identify the offer more precisely and explain the risk directly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The email follows a broadly sensible order: congratulations and personal experience come first, followed by a housing recommendation and cautions. This makes the main purpose easy to identify. However, the response is presented as one long paragraph, so the description, recommendation, and warnings are not visually separated. Several ideas are also joined in a run-on sequence, particularly the list of nearby facilities and the final advice about parking. Use two or three short paragraphs and clearer transitions such as “For your search” and “One thing to avoid.” This would make the progression easier to follow and reduce the impression that information is being added mechanically.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for accommodation and student life, including “monthly rent,” “on campus,” “property manager,” and “basement parking.” These choices communicate useful, specific information. However, spelling errors and awkward or imprecise phrases are noticeable, including “addmission,” “valubale,” “recommand,” and “winter strom.” Some expressions are also unclear or unnatural, such as “free 2 month programs for in campus rental” and “car engine blocked.” Choose more precise wording and check spelling carefully; for example, explain whether you mean a two-month rent promotion and say that severe winter weather can affect a car. More accurate collocations would make the advice sound clearer and more natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt some longer sentence forms, including a reason clause with “as I was saving” and a conditional phrase beginning “if you have car.” The overall meaning is usually recoverable, but errors in sentence construction, articles, verb forms, and punctuation are frequent enough to make parts less smooth. For example, “During my course I stay” needs a past-tense verb, while “I would recommand you to live” has an incorrect verb pattern. The opening also needs punctuation after “congratulations” and a more accurate structure. Practise separating ideas into complete sentences, using past tense consistently for your student experience, and checking articles such as “a car” and “a one-bedroom apartment.”

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

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