Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-25

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 7.0)

Dear Khang,

I am so excited to hear that you are enrolling in the same university where I studied a few years ago. You also mentioned that you're looking for a suitable place to live. I'm happy to share that I know a convenient place where I stayed during my graduation. It was an apartment building, quite close to the main institution named "Chelsea Heavens Apartments".

I am confident that this place would be best for you. It is a ten-minute walk to the university from the apartment and there are many amenities in the building including its own parking space and a mini supermarket in case you don't have enough time to run errands, pluse it is affordable. There are other facilities near the building such as a park, cafe and restaurant where you can spend your quality time to unwind.

I know some students make impulsive decisions when searching for accommodations by choosing far locations. This may waste their time and money on commuting long distance specially on busy hours, such as in the morning. I am pretty sure you wouldn't make such a mistake as you know how stressful university life is.

I hope you find my advice helpful and let me know what your thoughts on this. We can discuss more when I see you.

Best wishes,

Navjot

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

The response successfully addresses all three bullet points of the prompt. You clearly described your previous accommodation, recommended a specific way to search, and provided a relevant warning about impulsive decisions. The tone is appropriate for an email to a friend, maintaining a friendly and helpful persona throughout. The ideas are well-developed and relevant to the context of university life. To reach a higher band, you could provide slightly more specific advice on the 'best way' to look for accommodation, such as mentioning specific websites, university housing portals, or student forums, rather than just describing the benefits of your previous apartment.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The email is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the task, which helps the reader follow your points easily. You use cohesive devices such as 'In addition', 'such as', and 'I am confident that' to link your sentences. However, some transitions could be more sophisticated to improve the flow. For instance, the transition between the description of the apartment and the warning about mistakes is a bit abrupt. Using more varied linking words would enhance the overall coherence of the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

You demonstrate a good range of vocabulary appropriate for this informal task. Phrases like 'run errands', 'impulsive decisions', and 'unwind' are used correctly and naturally. There are a few minor errors, such as 'pluse' (a spelling error for 'plus') and 'on busy hours' (the correct preposition is 'at'). While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, incorporating more precise or idiomatic expressions would elevate the response. Overall, the lexical range is adequate for the task and does not impede communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures effectively. Most of your sentences are clear and grammatically accurate. There are a few minor slips, such as 'let me know what your thoughts on this' (missing the verb 'are') and 'specially on busy hours' (should be 'especially'). Despite these occasional errors, the majority of your sentences are error-free, and your control over punctuation and sentence structure is generally strong. To improve, ensure you proofread for small omissions like missing auxiliary verbs.

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

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