Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-03

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 Nikhil

I hope you are going great.

I am writing this letter to congratulate you for getting selected in a course at the renowned university of Toronto. I would love to give you advice to find a good accommodation for your living.

When I was a student of this university I used to live in Markham city at the major intersection of Markham and Steels as it was close to all the amenities, grocery stores, restaurants and shopping malls. I highly recommend you this city to find a place to live because, it is close to the university you can save a lot on transportation as the university is on walking distance from this city.

There are several of platforms available online which you can consider to find 1BHK in a very reasonable price such as Kjiji.com, Facebook Marketplace and social media groups.

Do not make mistake of confirming the room on rent through photos or videos. Make sure you visit the house first and check that all the amenities are available in the house, lights and fans are working properly, specially ask the home owner if there are bugs in the house. sometime people do not tell until you ask.

Lastly, do not give cash in hand for the deposit, always make bank transfer or interact so that you will have proof of rent deposit.

I hope my advice will help you find a good place to live very soon.

Yours Sincerely

Lovejeet Singh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You described your past living situation, provided specific recommendations for platforms to search for accommodation, and offered practical warnings regarding scams and deposits. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend, being both informal and helpful. The ideas are well-developed and relevant to the task requirements. To reach a higher band, ensure that your opening and closing salutations are consistent with the informal nature of the task (e.g., 'Dear Nikhil' is fine, but 'Yours Sincerely' is typically reserved for formal letters where the recipient's name is unknown; 'Best wishes' or 'Warmly' would be more natural here).

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The email is logically organized, with each paragraph focusing on a specific requirement of the prompt. The progression of ideas is clear, moving from your personal experience to practical advice and finally to warnings. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'When I was a student', 'Lastly', and 'There are several platforms', which help guide the reader. However, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes a bit mechanical. To improve, try to vary your linking words and ensure that transitions between sentences feel more natural and less like a list of instructions.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'amenities', 'transportation', and 'deposit' correctly. There are some minor issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'getting selected in a course' (should be 'getting accepted onto a course') and 'on walking distance' (should be 'within walking distance'). Additionally, 'Kjiji' is a specific brand name, and 'interact' likely refers to 'e-transfer' in a Canadian context, which is acceptable but could be clarified. Overall, your vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, though it lacks the precision and flexibility of higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical errors throughout the text. For example, 'I hope you are going great' should be 'I hope you are doing great'. You also have some issues with articles and prepositions, such as 'in a very reasonable price' (at a very reasonable price) and 'do not make mistake' (do not make the mistake). Despite these errors, they do not impede communication. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles, as these are frequent minor slips.

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

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