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)

Dear sam,

I hope you are doing well. Congratulations, for getting offered by the Algoma University. I, m glad you asked me for suggesting accommodation nearby university.

When I studied their my brother find the accomodation for me. I used to live in the rural community which was 1 kilometer far from the university. The house had four rooms with shared kitchen. The all furniture was provided by the owner. Moreover, the shopping mall was very close to my house.

I recommend to search online websites such as Kijiji, facebook market place to find the accommodation. Apart from this, you can also join the college official facebook group, where students posts regularly if their are any vacant place available.

I would like to aware you, while choosing the accommodation, firstly never share the room with other students, until you do not know him well. My friends got several problem when he was living in the sharing apartment. Furthermore, do not find the accommodation very far from the university because the bus service is not great in that area, especially in winters.

Let me know if you need my help with anything else. I look forward to your response.

Best regards,

Parm

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points required by the task. You described your past living situation, provided specific recommendations for online platforms like Kijiji and Facebook, and offered relevant warnings regarding room-sharing and location. The tone is appropriate for an email to a friend, and the purpose of the letter is clear throughout. To reach a higher band, ensure that your ideas are slightly more developed; for instance, you could explain why the bus service is unreliable in winter to add more depth to your advice. Overall, the response is well-focused and meets all requirements of the prompt.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The email is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each focusing on one of the required points. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Moreover,' 'Apart from this,' and 'Furthermore' to link your ideas. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical, and there are minor issues with referencing and flow, such as the slightly awkward phrasing in the opening paragraph. The progression of ideas is generally easy to follow, and the structure supports the reader's understanding of your advice. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring smoother transitions between sentences would help elevate this score.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'accommodation,' 'vacant,' and 'rural community.' However, there are several instances of word-choice errors and awkward collocations, such as 'offered by the Algoma University' (should be 'offered a place at'), 'find the accomodation' (should be 'found'), and 'aware you' (should be 'warn you'). While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more precise control over word forms and collocations. Expanding your vocabulary to include more natural idiomatic expressions would enhance the quality of your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('my brother find,' 'students posts,' 'there are any vacant place'), tense inconsistencies ('When I studied their my brother find'), and punctuation errors (e.g., 'I, m'). While the meaning remains clear, these errors are noticeable and occur with enough frequency to prevent a higher score. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic verb tenses and subject-verb agreement, and try to incorporate more complex structures with greater accuracy.

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

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