Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-21

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 Sachit,

I am glad to hear that you got offer from university for starting you new course. Thank you for asking my advice to find an accommodation. First of all, I would advice you to live near the university so you can save your travelling time as well as expense to reach the university. I used to live in a society named 'Neibours' while studying there, you can check on their website if they have anything available. If not, you can look for place to live on Facebook marketplace, there are always a large number of advertisements available there for either rooms or basements. But there is one thing I want you warn you about is the scam going on Facebook as there are so many people who will tell you that they are out of town and unable to schedule a viewing for listed property and they will ask you to transfer some money online to reserve the place if you like it. Please do not trust anyone without scheduling a viewing because these people block your number after receiving the money. A lot of students got scammed because of this. So, be careful and let me know if you need any additional help.

Kind regards

Komal

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You described your previous living situation, provided a clear recommendation for finding accommodation, and offered a specific, helpful warning regarding potential scams. The tone is appropriate for an email to a friend, and the ideas are well-developed and relevant. The response is fully focused on the task requirements, and the advice given is practical and easy to follow. To reach a higher band, you could expand slightly on the 'why' behind your recommendations to add more depth to the personal advice.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The email is logically organized, with a clear progression of ideas from the initial greeting to the specific advice and the final warning. You use some cohesive devices such as 'First of all', 'If not', and 'But', which help the reader follow your train of thought. However, the response is written as a single block of text. To improve, you should use paragraph breaks to separate the different sections of your email (e.g., one paragraph for your experience, one for the recommendation, and one for the warning). This would significantly improve the visual structure and readability of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to communicate your ideas clearly. Phrases like 'schedule a viewing' and 'transfer some money' are natural and appropriate for the context. There are some minor errors, such as 'got offer' (should be 'got an offer') and 'advice' (used as a verb, where 'advise' is the correct form). While the vocabulary is adequate for the task, it is somewhat basic. Using more varied descriptive language or more precise collocations would help demonstrate a wider range of lexical resource.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical slips, such as 'starting you new course' (should be 'your'), 'I would advice' (should be 'advise'), and 'I want you warn you' (should be 'I want to warn you'). Additionally, some sentences are slightly run-on, such as the warning about scams, which could be broken into two sentences for better clarity. While these errors are noticeable, they do not impede communication, and the meaning remains clear throughout the email.

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

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