Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

Dear Trilok,

I hope you doing well, I am very happy for you that you come to Canada for your higher education.

As you know I lived here since 2 years so, I have some things to give you as a suggestion. When I was a student I lived with my friends and the big advantage was they lived just 1km away from my University.

I was living in the same city where you want to study. I think the best way to find accommodation in that city, you have to join University's community group they put all the updates for accommodation, you can find this group on Facebook also. Last one thing just put one informal massage into this group that you need what type of accommodation.

There are lots of people you get who is very greedy so be aware of that do not pay all the rent at once most of students done that and then they have regret so be careful about that and when you talked with any house owner let me know I will help to give you reference so you will get some discount.

Let me know any help you want from my side, I will really happy to help you.

best wishes,

Manav

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all three bullet points of the prompt. You successfully described your past living situation, recommended the university community group, and provided a warning about rental scams. The tone is appropriate for an email to a friend. However, the development of ideas is somewhat basic. For instance, the warning about 'greedy' people could be more detailed to fully meet the requirements of a Band 7 or higher. The ideas are relevant and clear, but they lack the depth and extension required for a higher band score. Overall, the task is fulfilled adequately.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The email is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your points. You use some cohesive devices like 'As you know' and 'However', but the flow between sentences is sometimes a bit mechanical. For example, the transition between the suggestion about the Facebook group and the warning about scams is quite abrupt. Additionally, the use of punctuation is inconsistent, which occasionally disrupts the flow of ideas. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence would enhance the overall coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You have an adequate range of vocabulary for this task, allowing you to communicate your ideas clearly. You use some relevant terms such as 'accommodation', 'higher education', and 'reference'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'I lived here since 2 years' (should be 'for 2 years') and 'most of students done that' (should be 'have done that'). The vocabulary is generally functional but lacks the variety and precision needed for a higher band score. Attempting to use more sophisticated synonyms would improve your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the reader's understanding. For example, 'I hope you doing well' is missing the auxiliary verb 'are', and 'I will really happy to help you' is missing the verb 'be'. There are also issues with tense consistency and article usage, such as 'the big advantage was they lived just 1km away'. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and verb forms would be beneficial.

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

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