Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Dear Jessica,

I am delighted to know that you've been offered a placement in Masters degree for the Finance program at McGill University where I completed my education. I will let you know all the things to keep in mind beforehand, when you start hunting for your accommodation.

When I was a student, I lived in a sharing three-bedroom apartment with other two roommates and had all the amenities included. It was newly established when I began my course. You can consider this option as it's very close from our campus; hardly it was a 5 mins walk.

I'm gonna suggest you to get in touch with the administration department first as they have many references for real estate developers. They would help you in order to find the right place to live in for you based on your needs and requirements.

That being said, many students tend to make mistakes when it comes to choose the right apartment. I'd suggest you to make sure of couple of things; firstly, be in a position to know that they don't collect any down payment before signing the lease contract and secondly, demand a monthly inspection in case the apartment is invaded by the bugs.

All the best,

Sahil.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response successfully addresses all three bullet points of the task. You provided a clear description of your former accommodation, offered a practical recommendation regarding the university administration, and included relevant warnings about potential pitfalls. The tone is appropriate for an email to a friend, maintaining a consistent informal yet informative register. The ideas are well-developed and directly relevant to the prompt, ensuring the reader receives helpful advice. To reach a higher band, ensure that the advice provided is slightly more nuanced; for example, the warning about 'bugs' is a bit specific, whereas broader advice on lease terms or hidden costs might be more universally applicable.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The email is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph focuses on a specific requirement of the prompt, which aids readability. You use some cohesive devices such as 'That being said' and 'firstly/secondly' to structure your arguments. However, the flow between sentences could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words. Some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the connection between the introduction and the first body paragraph could be smoother. Overall, the paragraphing is appropriate, and the message is easy to follow throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for this task, using terms like 'amenities', 'references', and 'lease contract' correctly. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'sharing three-bedroom apartment' (should be 'shared') and 'hardly it was a 5 mins walk' (awkward phrasing). While you successfully convey your meaning, the vocabulary is somewhat functional rather than sophisticated. To improve, try to incorporate more precise collocations and idiomatic expressions that would naturally occur in a friendly email, which would help elevate the lexical range and precision of your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is good. However, there are several grammatical errors that persist throughout the text. For instance, 'I'm gonna suggest you to' is informal and grammatically incorrect (should be 'I suggest that you...'), and 'in case the apartment is invaded by the bugs' is slightly unnatural. Additionally, there are minor errors in preposition usage, such as 'close from our campus' (should be 'close to'). While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more careful proofreading to ensure subject-verb agreement and correct prepositional usage in complex sentences.

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

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