Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-05

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 Inder ,

Hope you are doing well. I got your message regarding the place university offered you. I have already studied at that same university but It is difficult to find place nearby. There are huge number of students living nearby. But if you want a best to live where you can find a proper environment to study. I can share you contact details of apartment owner where I was living during my study. Students often make mistake while choosing living place, they only think about money that they find place at very low price but its not only about money. The place should have a good environment for living and studying otherwise it is difficult to focus on study. So don not choose room in hurry choose it is wisely so that you can focus on study and have good security system. Your security and good study environment should be uor priority.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed all three bullet points required by the prompt. You described your past living situation, recommended a way to find housing, and provided a warning about common mistakes. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the recommendation is quite brief, and the warning could be more specific regarding the types of mistakes students make beyond just focusing on price. To improve, try to expand on your points with more detail or personal anecdotes to fully develop your response within the context of a friendly email.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The email follows a logical progression, moving from the greeting to the specific requirements of the task. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and limited. For example, the transition between sentences is often abrupt, and there is a lack of varied linking words (e.g., 'but' is used repeatedly). Paragraphing is also missing; the entire response is written as a single block of text. Using clear paragraph breaks for each bullet point would significantly improve the readability and structure of your email.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task but remains quite basic. You rely on simple phrasing such as 'find place' and 'good environment'. There are also some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'share you contact details' (should be 'share the contact details with you') and 'choose it is wisely' (grammatical error). To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more precise vocabulary related to housing, such as 'tenancy', 'amenities', 'proximity', or 'budget-conscious'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and some attempted complex sentences, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow. Examples include 'I got your message regarding the place university offered you' (missing 'the'), 'don not choose' (spelling/typo), and 'uor priority' (typo). Additionally, sentence structure is often fragmented, such as 'But if you want a best to live where you can find a proper environment to study.' Focusing on subject-verb agreement and proofreading for minor typos would help improve your score in this area.

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

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