Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-22

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 Mitali,

I hope you are doing well. I am happy to hear that you want to study course at the university, where I did my bachelor degree. Also, you seek my advice for finding comfortable accommodation for living.

During my college time, I was living in the government hostel, because it was quite close to my university and reduced the transportation costs. Apart from that, during heavy rainfall and winter, it would be more convenient for me to commute to college.

Nowadays, it is bit easy to find suitable accommodation on social media platforms and through various websites. So, just go through one of them and find accommodation as per your needs. Most probably living with family as a paying guest would be comfortable for you, because it will reduce your burden about cooking after coming back from the college. Apart from that, college hostel is also one of the best option for your living near to university and affordable due to less accommodation fees.

I suggest you to never reliant on information which given on an online websites, because sometimes details are wrong and misleading. Therefore, always try to visit your living place in-person and clarify all terms and conditions with landlord about payment and other things. Moreover, try to avoid written agreement, because it will stop you to change your accommodation for certain time period .

I hope my suggestions will be helpful to you. Please let me know if you need any help regarding accommodation.

Best regards,

Twinkle

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You described your past living situation, recommended ways to search for accommodation, and provided a warning about potential pitfalls. The tone is appropriate for an informal email to a friend. To reach a higher band, ensure your advice is more nuanced; for example, your warning to 'avoid written agreement' is actually counter-intuitive, as written agreements are generally recommended to protect tenants. Developing your ideas with more specific, logical examples would strengthen the response further.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The email is logically organized with clear paragraphing. Each paragraph focuses on one of the required bullet points, which helps the reader follow your ideas easily. You use some cohesive devices like 'Apart from that', 'Nowadays', and 'Therefore' to link your sentences. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical or repetitive. To improve, try to vary your linking words and ensure that the flow between sentences is more natural. The overall progression of ideas is clear and easy to follow throughout the letter.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. Phrases like 'reduce your burden', 'misleading', and 'in-person' are used effectively. There are some minor issues with word choice, such as 'reduce your burden about cooking' (which should be 'reduce the burden of cooking') and 'less accommodation fees' (which should be 'lower rent'). While you successfully communicate your points, using more precise collocations would elevate your score. The vocabulary is generally appropriate for the task, though it lacks the sophistication required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'study course at the university' (missing 'a'), 'it is bit easy' (missing 'a'), and 'never reliant on' (should be 'rely'). Additionally, 'information which given on an online websites' contains errors in passive voice and article usage. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and article usage will help improve your accuracy.

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

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