Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-01

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 7.0)

Dear Mustapha,

I hope this email finds you well. Congratulations for getting accepted to take the leadership course in Georgetown university. It is such a pleasure. Welcome to the Hoyas community. I am sure you are currently struggling with securing a place to live. Therefore, I am writing this email to share with you certain tips on how to successfully secure a room to live. Back to 2019, I was living in the inside dorms of the university next to the medical clinic. It was cheap and clean. Moreover, It was close to all different facilities and means of transportations. I would recommend that you go on Monday morning to the Arabic studies building next to the university's front door. It has an NGO that helps students on getting access to the the university's dorms. Otherwise, I will give you the phone number of a friend of mine who is a real estate coordinator in the area, He could help you find you a shared room in Georgetown area for an affordable price. I would only warn you from looking outside the university alone. The property owners they will make you pay for too many warranties in advance. This will make your accommodation expensive and challenging throughout your stay in Georgetown area. Please try to get in touch with that NGO in the Arabic studies building and get back to me with any updates. I will help you for sure to secure a place where to live.

Looking forward to hearing back from you,

Very respectfully,

Fouad Mouaatakid,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.0

The response successfully addresses all three bullet points of the prompt. You clearly described your past living situation, provided a specific recommendation for finding housing, and included a relevant warning about potential pitfalls. The tone is appropriate for an email to a friend, and the purpose is clear throughout. The ideas are well-developed, particularly the advice regarding the NGO and the warning about property owners. To reach a higher band, ensure that the opening and closing are slightly more natural; for instance, 'Very respectfully' is quite formal for a friend, and 'Georgetown university' should be capitalized as 'Georgetown University'.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The email is logically organized, with each paragraph or section addressing a specific part of the prompt. You use some cohesive devices like 'Moreover', 'Therefore', and 'Otherwise' to link ideas. However, the paragraphing is somewhat limited; the entire body of the email is presented as one large block of text. Breaking this into distinct paragraphs for each bullet point would significantly improve the readability and flow. Additionally, some transitions feel slightly mechanical. Improving the variety of linking words and using paragraph breaks would help the text move more smoothly.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. Phrases like 'securing a place to live' and 'real estate coordinator' are appropriate. There are some minor issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'warn you from looking' (should be 'warn you against looking') and 'too many warranties' (likely meaning 'deposits' or 'fees'). While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more precise vocabulary usage. Expanding your range to include more idiomatic expressions or natural collocations would enhance your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'Congratulations for getting accepted' (should be 'on getting accepted'), 'Back to 2019' (should be 'Back in 2019'), and 'The property owners they will make you pay' (a redundant subject). Punctuation is generally acceptable, though there are some issues with comma usage and capitalization. While these errors are noticeable, they rarely cause confusion for the reader. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of prepositions.

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