Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 Amy,

Hello, how are you. Its been so long since we last talked, I am glad to hear that you got admitted in computer science degree in Lambton college.

I am delighted to guide you about a place to live.

when I was studying in the college, I used to live in the apartments on the Main street, as these are the just 5 minutes walk to the university. Moreover, rent is quiet affordable, and they are clean, provided with all the necessary amenities.

I can give you the contact number of the owner of my previous apartment, so you can check with him the availability of the apartment. Otherwise he knows many realtors who lent similar apartments in the same building may be you can request him for that.

Please do not complete the deal online I would always recommend you to personally check the space before moving in or paying the security fees because of plenty of frauds going on these days.

I hope you will find the beautiful apartment soon. Let me know if you need any other. Do not forget to enjoy your university time along with your studies.

Lots of love,

Mansi

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response successfully addresses all three bullet points of the prompt. You described your previous living situation, provided a clear recommendation for finding accommodation, and included a relevant warning about potential scams. The tone is appropriate for an email to a friend, maintaining a friendly and helpful persona throughout. The ideas are relevant and sufficiently developed to meet the task requirements. To reach a higher band, ensure that your opening and closing are slightly more polished and that you fully expand on the 'why' behind your recommendations to add more depth to the communication.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The email is logically organized with clear paragraph breaks that separate the different requirements of the task. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'Otherwise', and 'Please do not', which help the flow of ideas. However, the progression between sentences could be smoother. For instance, the transition between the description of your old apartment and the offer to provide a contact number is slightly abrupt. Improving the use of linking phrases to connect your personal experience to the advice you are giving would enhance the overall cohesion of the letter.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'amenities', 'realtors', and 'security fees' correctly. There are some minor word-choice errors, such as 'lent' instead of 'rent' or 'let', and 'quiet' instead of 'quite'. While these do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more precision. To improve, try to incorporate more varied collocations and ensure that common words are used in their correct context. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey your message clearly, but lacks the flexibility and sophistication required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'Its been' (missing apostrophe), 'how are you.' (incorrect punctuation), and 'the just 5 minutes walk' (incorrect article/preposition usage). Additionally, 'realtors who lent similar apartments' is grammatically awkward. While these errors are noticeable, they do not prevent the reader from understanding your meaning. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement, correct punctuation, and the accurate use of articles. Increasing the variety of complex sentence structures while maintaining accuracy will help you achieve a higher score.

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

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