Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-04
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 Mily,
I’m extremely delighted to hear that you have been offered the course at university of Toronto where I had completed my bachelor course.
During my course, I chose to live in the university campus hostel due to the low rental cost and save time to travel, instead I spent on sports. Due to high demand near the campus, students hardly find affordable rooms to stay. Therefore, I would suggest you to book a room in advance before you complete all the application formalities.
However, there are other options for you to choose outside the campus, which will be posted on student notice board, sharing room might help to reduce overall cost and staying with family might help you to avoid home sick feelings.
Finally, I would warn, without visiting the place which you choose, don’t do any online transactions due to housing scams and false information.
I hope this will help you to take appropriate steps further. All the very best.
Warm regards,
Anjali
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You described your experience living in a campus hostel, recommended booking in advance, and provided a clear warning regarding housing scams. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend, and the purpose of the email is clear throughout. To reach a higher band, you could expand slightly on the 'why' behind your recommendations, such as explaining the specific benefits of living with a family beyond just avoiding homesickness, or providing more detail on the types of housing scams to look out for. Overall, the task is fully addressed.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The email is logically organized, with each paragraph addressing a specific requirement of the prompt. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Therefore', 'However', and 'Finally' to guide the reader. However, the flow between sentences could be smoother. For instance, the transition in the second paragraph from the hostel experience to the advice about booking in advance is a bit abrupt. Additionally, some referencing is slightly mechanical. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that ideas within paragraphs are more tightly connected would help elevate this score.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for this task, using terms like 'application formalities', 'housing scams', and 'affordable rooms'. There are some minor issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'save time to travel, instead I spent on sports' (which is grammatically awkward) and 'home sick feelings' (which should be 'homesickness'). While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, it lacks the precision and natural collocation expected at higher bands. Incorporating more idiomatic expressions or more sophisticated synonyms would enhance the lexical quality.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text, such as 'university of Toronto where I had completed my bachelor course' (missing articles and tense issues) and 'I would suggest you to book' (should be 'suggest that you book' or 'advise you to book'). The sentence 'I chose to live... instead I spent on sports' is a run-on/fused sentence that lacks proper punctuation or conjunctions. While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focus on subject-verb agreement and correct preposition usage.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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