Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-12

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 6.0)

Dear Nathan,

I am writing to explain the situation regarding you asking me to provide you advice to find a place to live.

First of all I would like to explain that, When I was a student I stayed in 15th floor apartment of Seneca University Markham Campus. I really like it there because it is so convenient that the mall and the grocery store is only 15 minutes work from the apartment. However finding a good timing to get the the place is a plus.

Furthermore, I should tell you that the best way to get the place that you are looking for is April to July because this are not peak hours and less people are looking for apartment. And I personally, recommend that you need to use the rentapartment.com while searching on April till July. This will help you find the place you want in a short period of time because there have direct access to the campus. And they will recommend you to the best location that is close to all amenities.

However, most of the students failed to get the nice accommodation that they want because they did not look for it on April till July. And they just pick random units because they got no choice.

Finally, Just to make it clear it is better to find a place in April till July to have a better options to get a apartment. And choice the location that is close to all amenities for your convenient.

I look forward to your reply. Please let me know if you need more information.

Best Regards,

Vincent Elipe

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed all three bullet points in the prompt: describing your past accommodation, recommending a search method, and warning about common mistakes. The tone is appropriate for an email to a friend. However, the development of ideas is somewhat repetitive, particularly regarding the advice to search between April and July. To improve, you could provide more specific details about the type of accommodation (e.g., shared house vs. studio) or explain the 'why' behind the warnings more clearly. While the task is fully addressed, the content lacks the depth required for a higher band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The email is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your points. You use some cohesive devices like 'First of all', 'Furthermore', and 'However'. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly unnatural, such as the repetitive use of 'April till July' as a primary transition. Additionally, some sentences are disjointed, and the flow between ideas could be smoother. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph focuses on a single, well-connected idea would enhance the overall coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to communicate your message clearly. You use some relevant terms like 'amenities', 'convenient', and 'accommodation'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as '15 minutes work' (instead of 'walk'), 'get the the place' (repetition), and 'have a better options' (grammatical error). The vocabulary is generally functional but lacks the precision and flexibility needed for a higher band. Focusing on learning common collocations and ensuring correct word forms will help you improve.

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 'regarding you asking me' (awkward phrasing), 'this are not peak hours' (subject-verb agreement), 'there have direct access' (incorrect verb usage), and 'choice the location' (should be 'choose'). While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your meaning, they are frequent enough to be noticeable. To reach a higher band, you should focus on subject-verb agreement, correct preposition usage, and ensuring that your sentence structures are grammatically sound.

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

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