Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-26

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 Naren,

I hope you're doing well. It's been a while since we last spoke. I'm glad to know that you got an admission to the MITS course at Ontario Tech University. I'm writing to provide you advice on how to select a proper accommodation near the university.

Firstly, I would like to provide my accommodation details. I lived in the townhouse near the university. These townhouses are only to accommodate the students and are looked after by student unions.

I would suggest that you should start looking for an accommodation in the Facebook market place or Kijiji. These websites would actively post the accurate and updated information and details regarding the university housing.

Finally, I warn you to not to make mistakes when choosing your accommodation. One of the most important mistakes is never choose a shared accommodation. It will be very challenging to share the common areas such as, the kitchen and the bathroom with others and also cause a significant inconvenience and discomfort. Additionally, I advice that you avoid taking the in-house laundry suites. These units may annoy you and disturb you while studying.

I hope these suggestions would help you and let me know your thoughts.

Best regards,

Raj Kumar

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 accommodation, recommended specific platforms for searching, and provided warnings about potential mistakes. The tone is appropriate for an email to a friend, and the purpose of the letter is clear throughout. To reach a higher band, you could expand on the 'why' behind your recommendations—for example, explaining why Facebook Marketplace is more reliable than other platforms or providing more specific details about the townhouse experience to make the advice feel more personal and well-developed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The email is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs for each requirement, and a closing. You use basic cohesive devices like 'Firstly', 'Additionally', and 'Finally' to guide the reader. However, the transitions can feel a bit mechanical. To improve, try to vary your linking words and ensure that the flow between sentences is smoother. For instance, the transition between discussing the townhouse and suggesting search platforms could be more integrated. Overall, the paragraphing is appropriate, and the message is easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your ideas clearly. Phrases like 'accommodate the students' and 'significant inconvenience' are used correctly. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'provide you advice' (should be 'give you advice') and 'in-house laundry suites' (which sounds slightly unnatural in this context). To improve, focus on more precise collocations and idiomatic expressions suitable for an informal email. You have a good foundation, but incorporating more varied and natural-sounding vocabulary would elevate your score.

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 that persist. For example, 'I warn you to not to make' is redundant and grammatically incorrect (should be 'I warn you not to make'), and 'I advice' should be the verb 'advise'. Additionally, there are minor issues with article usage, such as 'in the Facebook market place'. Increasing your control over these small grammatical points and ensuring consistent verb-noun agreement will help you achieve a higher band score.

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

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