Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-17

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 John,

I hope you are doing well. Its been a while since we met last time. I heard that you have successfully secured a seat for the the Automobile course and am happy to hear that.

Your mother also told me that you have not rented a house yet near the college. I used to stay in the college hostel when I was doing my Degree.

It was really great to stay with different cultured students and learn new things from them.

If you are looking for a house to rent i would recommend to search in Facebook marketplace and Kijiji website. There we can find all the nearby stay and it would be more easy to find the near spots. I can also share a few contacts of my friends who is still studying.

And please be aware of the fraud advertisements and traps to steal money. You must also check the transportation facilities are near or just look for the college bus routes that will help you to reach college easily. Many of them would not check that and look for cheap rent.

I wish all the best for the new career journey.

Looking forward to your response soon.

With Regards,

Joe

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You described your experience living in the college hostel, recommended specific platforms like Facebook Marketplace and Kijiji for house hunting, and provided a clear warning about potential fraud and the importance of checking transportation routes. The tone is appropriate for an email to a friend, and the purpose of the letter is clear throughout. The ideas are relevant and sufficiently developed to meet the requirements of the task. To reach a higher band, you could provide slightly more detail in your advice, such as explaining why certain areas are better or what specific 'traps' to look out for beyond just fraud.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The email follows a logical structure, moving from the opening pleasantries to the specific advice requested. Paragraphing is used to separate the different points, which helps the reader follow your argument. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat basic. You rely heavily on simple conjunctions like 'and' or 'but'. To improve, try using a wider variety of linking words and phrases to connect your ideas more fluidly, such as 'Furthermore', 'In addition to this', or 'Consequently'. Additionally, some transitions between sentences feel a bit abrupt, which slightly affects the overall flow of the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for this task, using terms like 'secured a seat', 'fraud advertisements', and 'transportation facilities'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation. For example, 'more easy' should be 'easier', and 'different cultured students' would be more naturally expressed as 'students from diverse cultural backgrounds'. You also use 'the the' (repetition) and 'my friends who is still studying' (subject-verb agreement error). While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate that your control over more sophisticated vocabulary and collocations is still developing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'Its been a while' (missing apostrophe in 'It's'), 'my friends who is still studying' (should be 'who are'), and 'Many of them would not check that' (should be 'Many students do not check that'). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are minor slips throughout. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and ensure that your complex sentences are constructed accurately. While these errors are noticeable, they do not prevent the reader from understanding your message.

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

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