Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-07

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)

Hi tom,

Hope you are doing well.

I am writing this letter to you, regarding the information on your recent admission of same university where I studied. Firstly, for the accommodation, it is extremely hard to get a room inside university hostel because they all are pre-booked. Secondly, you have to be so smart while choosing accommodation because far away room will take travelling time. Moreover, I have talk with one of my friends his house is nearby and he is offering a rental room it is same room where I lived during my study time I already gave your number to him he will contact you shortly.

Apart from this, do not choose shelters due to peer pressure beside university they might seem cheap but the services and living standards are not worthy to be paid. My friend’s wife offers tiffin service as well it would be easy for you to get good meals also whereas, in my time i faced problem to had good food. Do not rely on others during studies or make any mistakes while choosing place to live. I have arranged everything, do your hard-work and finish study course on time.

Hope you like your accommodation.

Your loving brother,

Rishabhveer singh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all three bullet points: describing your past accommodation, recommending a search method, and warning about common mistakes. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat uneven. The recommendation is handled by essentially 'solving' the problem for the friend by offering a specific room, which slightly bypasses the spirit of giving general advice on how to look for accommodation. The warning about 'shelters' and 'peer pressure' is a bit vague and could have been better explained to ensure the reader fully understands the risks. Overall, the tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend, and the purpose is clear.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The email is organized into logical paragraphs, and the progression of ideas is generally easy to follow. You use some cohesive devices like 'Firstly', 'Secondly', 'Moreover', and 'Apart from this' to link your points. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical, and the connection between sentences within paragraphs could be smoother. For instance, the jump from discussing your friend's rental room to the warning about 'shelters' is slightly abrupt. The use of referencing is generally clear, though the sentence structure occasionally makes the flow feel a bit choppy.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You have an adequate range of vocabulary to convey your message, such as 'pre-booked', 'accommodation', and 'living standards'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'I have talk with one of my friends' (should be 'I have talked') and 'not worthy to be paid' (should be 'not worth the money'). The phrase 'tiffin service' is specific but perhaps not universally understood in an international context. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more natural collocations and avoid repetitive phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text, such as 'regarding the information on your recent admission of same university' (missing articles), 'far away room will take travelling time' (awkward phrasing), and 'I faced problem to had good food' (incorrect verb form). While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your meaning, they are frequent enough to impact the overall fluency and accuracy of the writing.

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

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