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 Kishan,
It was great to hear that you are offered same university course that I took. I would be very happy to guide you about accommodation near the university.
As you know the university is located in Science city, Ahmedabad. There is paying guest called "MANAV MANDIR", where I lived during the four years of graduation. The thing I admire most about this PG is they have a huge library inside the PG where I studied peacefully without any distraction. I would highly recommend you to find the accommodation near to University, which will make your life easy and convenient. Moreover, There is website called "GHAR For Rent" where you can find cheap house or apartment for rent and dietary options for the meals which will be very helpful for you, as you are a strict vegetarian.
Another key point I would strongly recommend is please try to avoid lease for more than 6 months, so that gives you flexibility to change the location if you find uncomfortable.
Yours lovingly,
Sumanth Patel
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0
The response successfully addresses all three bullet points of the prompt. You clearly described your past living situation at 'MANAV MANDIR', recommended a specific website for finding accommodation, and provided a practical warning regarding lease durations. The tone is appropriate for an email to a friend. To reach a higher band, you could expand slightly more on the 'why' behind your recommendations or provide more descriptive detail about the student experience to fully develop the ideas. However, all requirements are met with a clear and consistent focus throughout the letter.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0
The email is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph focuses on one of the required points, which helps the reader follow your advice easily. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Moreover' and 'Another key point', which effectively link your sentences. However, the transition between the introduction and the first body paragraph could be smoother. Additionally, some sentences are slightly disjointed, and the use of referencing could be more precise to improve the flow. Overall, the structure is clear and serves the purpose of the task well.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for this task, using terms like 'convenient', 'flexibility', and 'accommodation' correctly. There are some minor issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'guide you about' (should be 'advise you on') and 'dietary options for the meals' (which is slightly redundant). While you attempt to use some specific vocabulary related to the topic, the range is somewhat limited. To improve, try to incorporate more varied synonyms and idiomatic expressions suitable for an informal email to a friend to show greater flexibility and precision.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. However, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text, such as missing articles ('the university is located in Science city' should be 'the Science City') and minor tense or prepositional errors (e.g., 'you are offered' instead of 'you have been offered'). While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles will help improve your accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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