Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

Hello raman

I am jaspal . I see your email yesterday . So that’s why i replied you . I wanna give you good advice for your future studies . So i done study last year from same university . My experience was so good with university . I done my masters degree from Punjab university Chandigarh .in side the university accommodation available . And good food canteen available also . So i wanna prefer you join this university for your studies.

So i wanna give you more advice . Don’t argue with your teachers and classmates . Last year fire to much students for same mistakes .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response fails to address the core requirements of the prompt. While you mention university accommodation, you do not provide a recommendation on how to find housing, nor do you warn the friend about common mistakes in choosing accommodation. The content is largely off-topic, focusing on general advice about not arguing with teachers rather than the requested housing advice. Furthermore, the response is significantly under the 150-word minimum requirement, which severely limits the development of ideas. To improve, you must ensure every bullet point in the task instructions is covered in detail.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The email lacks a logical structure and appropriate paragraphing. The ideas are presented in a disjointed manner, and there is a lack of cohesive devices to link sentences together. The use of 'So' at the beginning of multiple sentences creates a repetitive and mechanical flow. To improve, you should organize your response into clear paragraphs: one for the introduction, one for each bullet point, and a closing. Using transition words like 'furthermore', 'however', or 'consequently' would help improve the flow of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is very basic and repetitive. You rely on simple, informal language such as 'good', 'wanna', and 'done'. There is little attempt to use a range of vocabulary suitable for an email to a friend or for describing housing. Phrases like 'fire to much students' are grammatically incorrect and demonstrate a lack of control over word choice and collocation. To reach a higher band, you should aim to use more descriptive adjectives and varied verbs to express your ideas clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including issues with verb tense ('I done study', 'I done my masters'), sentence structure, and punctuation. The use of 'wanna' is inappropriate for an IELTS task, even in an informal email. Many sentences are simple, and there is a lack of complex structures. The errors occasionally impede the reader's understanding, particularly in the second paragraph. Focusing on basic sentence construction and subject-verb agreement will help improve your accuracy.

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

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