Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-09

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 Annie,

I'm writing to suggest you a nice accommodation during your masters.

When I was studying at this university I stayed in boys dormitory near to the campus. Although it was a costlier option for me, I considered safety and convenience above others, and I saved plenty of time not throwing myself in commutation. This step helped me a lot to focus on my study as whenever I needed to borrow any book or spare time to read I preferred to visit campus library.

For you, I would recommend to choose a girl's hostel because that located inside the campus, and you don't have to share a room with others as they are providing individual room. That would be more beneficial because you can maintain your privacy and avoid any unwanted people.

The silliest mistake that most of students make to select rooms with extra amenities, like air conditioning and wifi, that cost them a lot because they have soaring charges. If you have an option, then avoid these things which are unnecessary and you can choose data connection or university's wifi over private wifi to minimize your monthly expenses.

If you need any assistance, inform me I will do my best.

Best wishes,

John.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response successfully addresses all three bullet points of the prompt. You clearly described your past living situation, provided a specific recommendation for your friend, and offered a relevant warning regarding student mistakes. The tone is appropriate for an email to a friend. The ideas are well-developed and relevant to the context of university accommodation. To reach a higher band, ensure that your advice is slightly more nuanced; for instance, you could expand on why certain amenities are unnecessary beyond just the cost factor. Overall, the task requirements are fully met with a clear and consistent focus throughout the email.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The email is logically organized into distinct paragraphs, each addressing a specific part of the prompt. The progression of ideas is clear, moving from your personal experience to recommendations and finally to warnings. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Although', 'For you', and 'If you need', which help the flow of the text. However, some transitions could be more sophisticated to improve the overall cohesion. For example, the link between the recommendation and the warning could be smoother. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate the different topics, making the email easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'accommodation', 'convenience', 'privacy', and 'amenities'. There are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'throwing myself in commutation' (which is unnatural) and 'soaring charges' (which is slightly awkward in this context). You attempt to use less common vocabulary, which is good, but some phrasing feels slightly forced. To improve, focus on more natural collocations and idiomatic expressions that are common in informal correspondence. Despite these minor issues, the meaning is always clear and the vocabulary is sufficient for the purpose.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you show control over basic grammar, there are several recurring errors. For example, 'suggest you a nice accommodation' should be 'suggest a nice accommodation to you', and 'that located inside' is missing a verb ('that is located'). Additionally, 'most of students' should be 'most students'. While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Increasing the variety of complex structures and proofreading for minor subject-verb agreement and preposition errors would significantly improve your performance.

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

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