Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-15

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 Sam,

I am delighted to hear that the University of California has accepted your candidature for a medical student. I remember to stay at a nearby hostel during my course time and would highly recommend the place.

As you know, the university doesn't provide the accomodation facility and many students struggle to find right place. I stayed at "Ramoji Hostel" located at 1km from the university. This place will not fit into your budget but also provide a lively environment with home cooked food.

This place is famous among the Indian students and the waiting list sometimes is very high. I got lucky to get into it by getting a job, you can also try if there is a vacancy available. Meanwhile, check facebook marketplace and several other websites where people put an advertisement about the tenancy.

Lastly, please beware of the scam. There are multiple people who asks for money before showing the place, exclude them right away. Visit the place in-person and after the verification pay the deposit followed by the rent.

Let me know for any other queries.

Best Regards,

XYZ

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You described your past accommodation at 'Ramoji Hostel', recommended searching via Facebook Marketplace, and provided a clear warning about rental scams. The tone is appropriate for an email to a friend, and the purpose of the letter is clear throughout. To reach a higher band, you could expand slightly on the 'why' behind your recommendations or provide more specific advice on how to verify a landlord, which would further develop your ideas and demonstrate a more sophisticated approach to the task requirements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The email is logically organized with clear paragraph breaks for each point requested. You use some cohesive devices such as 'As you know', 'Meanwhile', and 'Lastly' to guide the reader through the text. However, the flow between sentences could be improved; for instance, the transition between the hostel description and the advice on searching could be smoother. The referencing is generally clear, though some sentences feel slightly disjointed. Overall, the progression of ideas is logical and easy to follow, meeting the requirements for a Band 7.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, such as 'candidature', 'vacancy', and 'tenancy'. There are some minor inaccuracies, such as 'accepted your candidature for a medical student' (should be 'as a medical student') and 'doesn't provide the accomodation facility' (a bit unnatural; 'does not provide accommodation' is better). Spelling errors like 'accomodation' (accommodation) and 'asks' (should be 'ask' to agree with 'people') are present. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, it lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical slips, such as 'I remember to stay' (should be 'I remember staying'), 'This place will not fit into your budget but also provide' (should be 'not only fits... but also provides'), and 'people who asks' (subject-verb agreement error). Punctuation is generally functional, though some sentences could be structured more accurately to improve clarity. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score in this criterion.

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

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