Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-07-28
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 Ram,
How are you? I hope you are doing well. I was thrilled, when I learned you got the offered from The Algoma University to pursue your studies. I am glad, you need my assistant to find accomodation near by the university.
When I was the student of the Algoma University, I used to live in the sharing hostel. There were several reason behind that, firstly the hostel was cheaper than other accomodation. Secondly, they also provide me food with minimal extra cost, so I did not have to worry about cooking. At last but not least, many senior students were living there as well, which help me alot while exams.
Personally, I would prefer you the hostel will be the best option. If you want to live in the hostel, then I will provide you the hostel warden contact details. Apart from this, you can also apply for the hostel on the university official website.
I would like to aware you the mistakes commited by a few students such as do not pay any money online for the private accomodation. Some people will ask you for upfront deposit amount to booked the private room or house.
Let me now if you have any other questions. I look forward for your response.
Best regards,
Parminder
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0
The response addresses all three bullet points of the task: describing your previous living situation, recommending how to find accommodation, and warning about potential scams. The tone is appropriate for an email to a friend. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the warning about scams is brief and could have been expanded with more specific advice or a personal anecdote to better fulfill the 'warn' requirement. Despite this, all parts of the prompt are covered, and the purpose of the email is clear throughout.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0
The email is logically organized into paragraphs, each focusing on a specific requirement of the task. The use of cohesive devices such as 'firstly', 'secondly', and 'apart from this' helps to guide the reader through the text. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical or awkward, such as 'At last but not least'. Additionally, the referencing is occasionally unclear, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. Overall, the message is easy to follow, and the paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the distinct points requested in the prompt.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing for clear communication. You use some relevant terms like 'accommodation', 'hostel', and 'warden'. However, there are several instances of word-choice errors and awkward phrasing, such as 'got the offered' instead of 'received an offer', 'assistant' instead of 'assistance', and 'prefer you the hostel' instead of 'recommend the hostel'. These errors do not impede communication, but they indicate a limited range of vocabulary and some difficulty with collocations. Expanding your range of synonyms and practicing common word pairings would improve your score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the sharing hostel'), verb forms ('help me alot while exams'), and prepositions ('aware you the mistakes'). Some sentences are also grammatically incomplete or incorrectly constructed, such as 'I would like to aware you the mistakes commited'. These errors are noticeable and occur throughout the text, though they rarely prevent the reader from understanding your message. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.