Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Hello Surjit,

I am so glad that you're also coming to the same university where I studied.

When I was a student, I lived in a rented house with two other students. It was quite near the university, about 5 minutes walk away. It was cheap and easily access to supermarkets. This place was very time-consuming for me.

The best ways to find accommodation are student groups and marketplace on Facebook as well. Apart from it, you can also ask for live in sharing to your classmates.

There are a few things you should be careful about. Don't choose the place only because the rent is cheap. Some students fail to check the conditions of the room and the neighbourhood before moving in. You should also ask the owner about bills, deposits and house rules. Moreover, never send money before seeing the property and the rental agreement.

I hope you find a comfortable place to live soon, and let me know if you need any help.

Best wishes,

Sandeep Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You described your previous living situation, provided specific recommendations for finding accommodation, and offered relevant warnings regarding common pitfalls. The tone is appropriate for an email to a friend, and the purpose of the communication is clear throughout. The ideas are well-developed and relevant to the task requirements. To reach a higher band, ensure that your descriptions are slightly more detailed; for example, when you mention the house was 'time-consuming', the meaning is unclear in this context, as it likely contradicts your point about it being near the university.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

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 some cohesive devices such as 'Apart from it' and 'Moreover' to link your sentences. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical or unnatural. To improve, try using a wider variety of linking words and ensure that referencing is precise. For instance, 'Apart from it' is not the most natural way to introduce an additional suggestion; 'In addition' or 'Furthermore' would be more effective.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for this task, using terms like 'accommodation', 'neighbourhood', and 'rental agreement' correctly. There are some minor issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'easily access to supermarkets' (should be 'easy access to') and 'live in sharing' (which is not standard phrasing). While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more precise control over collocations. Expanding your vocabulary to include more idiomatic expressions or precise adjectives would help elevate your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures effectively. Most of your sentences are clear and grammatically sound. However, there are a few recurring errors, such as 'easily access to' instead of 'easy access to' and the slightly awkward phrasing 'This place was very time-consuming for me'. Punctuation is generally accurate, and the email format is followed correctly. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and ensuring that your modifiers (like 'easily') are used with the correct part of speech.

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

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