Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · 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 7.5)

Hello Jay,

I hope you’re doing well. I recently heard that you got an admission letter from the University of Ottawa for upcoming fall term. I recently completed my engineering from the same university, and would like to share advice on how to find nearby place to live.

Firstly, I was living on 1755 Frobisher Lane, which is 20 minutes away from the campus. The building has a swimming pool, a gym, a tennis court. The building has an indoor badminton court, and I used to play alot. The maintainance facility was excellent during my stay, and neighbourhood is quite and safe.

Furthermore, I would recommend you to join groups on Whatsapp and Facebook. I was able to find a place to live in couple of weeks, and you’ll see plethora of listings. I would also encourage you to research about active student clubs, as they can assist you as well.

In addition, I would like to draw your attention towards recent scams which are happening. People are tricking international students by forcing them to pay in advance to confirm the bookings. I would not advice you to pay deposit money and finalize the lease without inspecting the property. I’m happy to assist and inspect the property beforehand for you.

I look forward to meet you hear.

Thanks,

Raj.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You described your past accommodation, recommended effective search methods, and provided a relevant warning about rental scams. The tone is appropriate for a friendly email, and the ideas are well-developed and relevant to the task. The response is clear and provides helpful, practical advice, which fully satisfies the requirements of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 8.0

The email is logically organized with clear paragraphing. Each paragraph focuses on a specific point from the prompt, which helps the reader follow your ideas easily. You use appropriate cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Furthermore', and 'In addition' to transition between ideas. The flow is natural, and the relationship between sentences is clear throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

You demonstrate a good range of vocabulary, including phrases like 'plethora of listings' and 'draw your attention towards'. There are a few minor errors, such as 'completed my engineering' (should be 'completed my engineering degree') and 'I would not advice' (should be 'advise'). However, these do not impede communication. The vocabulary is generally well-suited to the informal yet informative context of the email.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures effectively. There are some minor grammatical slips, such as 'I look forward to meet you hear' (should be 'meeting you here') and 'neighbourhood is quite and safe' (should be 'quiet'). Despite these occasional errors, the majority of your sentences are error-free, and your meaning is always clear. The punctuation is generally accurate, supporting the overall readability of the email.

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

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