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 Aman,

I hope that you are well. I am writing to explain you about the place where I had accommodation while studying.

As you know that I lived in the student residency apartment because it was quite close to my university. Each apartment has two room so, if you want, you can share the room with your classmate or you can live privately. This was very clean place and you will get a good environment for education.

I would like to give you a suggestion to find out for accommodation. When you open the university portal, you will find the student residency area where you can book an accommodation if you want. Otherwise, the newspaper advertisements may help you to find a room in that area, but it might be more expensive than student residency.

I strongly say that you should never see the accommodation far from your university because you do not have your vehicle and transportation service is not good in this area. Therefore, you might have to face difficulties to reach at university. Avoid to join a company of drunk people because it can disturb your education.

I look forward to hear from you

Best wishes

Sandeep

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have addressed all three bullet points of the task effectively. You described your past living situation, provided a clear recommendation for finding accommodation, and included a relevant warning about common student mistakes. The tone is appropriate for an email to a friend, and the ideas are developed sufficiently to meet the requirements of the task. The response is well-focused and maintains a consistent perspective throughout, ensuring the reader understands your advice clearly.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The email is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph focuses on a specific requirement of the prompt, which helps the reader follow your advice easily. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'otherwise', 'therefore', and 'as you know' to link your sentences. While the flow is generally good, the use of linking words is somewhat mechanical at times. To reach a higher band, try to vary your transitions and ensure that referencing between sentences is smoother.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to communicate your ideas clearly. You use topic-specific terms like 'student residency', 'university portal', and 'advertisements'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'explain you about' (should be 'explain to you') and 'avoid to join a company' (should be 'avoid keeping company with'). These errors do not impede communication, but they indicate that your control over collocation and idiomatic phrasing could be more precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical slips, such as 'Each apartment has two room' (should be 'rooms'), 'This was very clean place' (should be 'a very clean place'), and 'reach at university' (should be 'reach the university'). Additionally, 'I strongly say' is slightly unnatural; 'I strongly advise' would be better. Despite these errors, your grammar is generally functional and does not cause confusion for the reader.

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

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