Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

Dear Friend,

I hope this letter finds you in the pink of health. I am writing this letter to guide you regarding the help you asked for the accommodation.

To begin with, I am glad that finally you received the admission letter from the prominent CEPT university, in Ahmedabad. I understand the feeling of shifting to the new city and making all the arrangements prior to beginning of the semester, but do not worry I will brief you about anything in which you required my assistance.

Firstly, I would say that I lived in hostel during 5 year course. But, In your case I would highly recommend you to look for PG instead, as the culture and food service of university hostel is deteriorating day by day. I have few friends over there in town and below I am attaching their details who would help you to search a nice PG for girls. However, it is prerequisite to ensure the furnishings, amenities, provision of daily meals, nature of the owner and the room partner before selecting the place.

I hope you find a better place to live and let me know if I can help you with any other issues. Give my regards to your parents.

Regards,

Jasmine

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed all three bullet points of the task: describing your past living situation, recommending a search method, and warning about common mistakes. The tone is appropriate for an email to a friend. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For example, while you mention the need to check amenities and the owner's nature, you do not explicitly detail the 'mistakes' students make, such as failing to check the distance from campus or ignoring hidden costs. Expanding on these specific pitfalls would have provided a more comprehensive response. Overall, the task is fulfilled, but the depth of advice could be improved to reach a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The email is logically organized with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate the different requirements of the prompt. You use some cohesive devices like 'To begin with', 'Firstly', and 'However' to link your ideas. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the flow between the recommendation and the warning could be smoother. The referencing is generally clear, though the sentence 'below I am attaching their details' is slightly awkward in its placement. Overall, the message is easy to follow and the progression of ideas is logical.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary for the task, including idiomatic expressions like 'in the pink of health' and collocations such as 'prerequisite to ensure'. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'brief you about anything in which you required my assistance' (should be 'require') and 'I lived in hostel' (missing the article 'a' or 'the'). While you attempt some less common vocabulary, the overall range is adequate rather than wide. The vocabulary is generally precise enough to convey your meaning without difficulty, but more variety in descriptive language would enhance the quality.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'I lived in hostel' (missing article), 'prior to beginning of the semester' (missing article), and 'I have few friends over there in town and below I am attaching their details who would help you' (awkward relative clause). Despite these errors, they do not impede communication. To improve, focus on article usage and ensuring that relative clauses clearly modify the intended noun. Your control of basic grammar is good, but more consistent accuracy in complex structures is needed for a higher score.

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

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