Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 Jeevan,

I am writing this letter regarding the advice you asked me about finding a accommodation close to my university.

I really enjoyed a place where I live during my study time because it was not only close to the university but also full with vital commodities. It was private room in two bedroom apartment.

However, you can check on online websites or applications such as Kijiji. It is very popular and reliable app for finding accommodations. you can direct contact owners and ask for place details.

Sometimes, owners ask for a advance payment. I kindly suggest you neither send any payment or personal account details prior to viewing house. Some people share fake video of the places for entangling renters, so do not relay on any online video as well.

I hope you will find a better place to live and accomplish your study soon.

Best regards,

Kuljit Singh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have addressed all three bullet points required by the prompt. You described your past living situation, recommended a method for finding accommodation, and provided a warning about potential scams. The tone is appropriate for an email to a friend. However, the development of your ideas is somewhat brief. For instance, while you mention the apartment was 'full with vital commodities,' expanding slightly on what those were (e.g., proximity to shops or transport) would have provided a more complete response. Overall, the task is fulfilled, though the depth of information could be improved to reach a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The email is logically organized with clear paragraphing, each addressing a specific requirement of the task. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'However' and 'Sometimes,' to link your ideas. However, the flow is occasionally interrupted by minor errors in referencing and sentence structure, such as 'I really enjoyed a place where I live' (tense inconsistency). The transition between the recommendation and the warning is functional, but the overall progression could be smoother with more varied linking words. The paragraph structure is appropriate for an informal email.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'commodities,' 'reliable,' and 'prior to.' There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'full with' (should be 'full of'), 'direct contact' (should be 'directly contact'), and 'entangling renters' (which is not the most natural choice for 'deceiving' or 'scamming'). While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more precise control over word combinations to reach a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, including missing articles ('finding a accommodation,' 'in two bedroom apartment'), tense inconsistencies ('where I live' instead of 'where I lived'), and preposition errors ('relay on' instead of 'rely on'). Despite these errors, the meaning remains clear throughout the email. To improve, focus on article usage and subject-verb agreement. The punctuation is generally correct, and the informal tone is maintained consistently.

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

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