Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-06
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 5.0)
Your friend is thinking about learning a new language and has asked for your advice. write a letter to your friend. In your letter say:
1) Say which language they should learn
2) Explain why you think it's a good idea
3) suggest how they can stand learning
Dear Davy,
hope you're in radiant health and high spirits. I am glad to know that you have been planning to learn a new language.
Since learning a new language has several benefits so I would like to advice you to learn French, which is wide use in many countries like Paris, Quebec.
Learning French is an enriching and rewarding because it opens a new professional opportunities, assist while travelling and explore new culture.
You can start while watching some you tube videos regarding how to learn French from scratch, and watch web series with subtitle on, which would be quite annoying at first, helps you lot and widen your knowledge.
I hope this peace of advice would be meaningful for you. I want to hear first line in French when we meet further.
Catch-up soon!
Harjit
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 2.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 2.0
The response is completely off-topic. The prompt explicitly asked for an email to a friend regarding accommodation advice for a university course. Instead, the student wrote about learning a new language. Because the response fails to address any of the bullet points related to the actual task (describing accommodation, recommending search methods, and warning about mistakes), it cannot be assessed as a successful response to the specific instructions provided. While the letter format is maintained, the content is irrelevant to the task requirements.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The letter is logically organised with a clear opening and closing. Paragraphs are used to separate ideas, and there is some attempt at using cohesive devices such as 'Since' and 'which'. However, the progression of ideas is limited by the fact that the content does not match the prompt. The use of linking words is somewhat mechanical, but the overall structure of a personal letter is clear and easy to follow despite the failure to address the task topic.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for a personal letter, though it lacks the range required for higher bands. There are some awkward collocations and word choice errors, such as 'advice' used as a verb instead of 'advise', and 'wide use' instead of 'widely used'. Phrases like 'radiant health' and 'high spirits' are a bit clichéd but show an attempt to use more sophisticated language. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning, even though the topic is incorrect.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'Since learning a new language has several benefits so I would like to advice you' (redundant 'so' and incorrect word form), 'Learning French is an enriching and rewarding' (missing noun), and 'assist while travelling' (incorrect verb form). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but the frequency of errors in basic grammar prevents a higher score. The sentences are understandable, but the control over complex structures is inconsistent.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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