Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · 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 7.0)

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. More importantly, I especially like these townhouses owing to its accessibility and also because of the various facilities such as private washroom and kitchen.

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. The other important reason is most of the senior students and union pages provide the information on student leasing and sub-leasing options.

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 7.5

The response successfully addresses all three bullet points of the prompt. You clearly describe your previous living situation, provide specific recommendations for finding housing, and offer warnings about potential mistakes. The tone is appropriate for an email to a friend, and the purpose is clear throughout. To reach a higher band, you could expand slightly on the 'why' behind your warnings; for instance, explaining the specific benefits of shared accommodation might provide a more balanced perspective, as your current advice to avoid it entirely is quite subjective. Overall, the task is fully completed with well-developed ideas.

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 cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'More importantly', and 'Finally' to guide the reader through your points. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical. For example, the shift between the recommendation of Facebook Marketplace and the warning about mistakes could be smoother. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate distinct ideas, which helps the reader follow your advice easily. The referencing is generally clear, though some minor improvements in sentence-to-sentence flow would enhance the overall cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. Phrases like 'accessibility', 'sub-leasing options', and 'significant inconvenience' show a good grasp of topic-specific language. There are some minor word-choice errors, such as 'provide my accommodation details' (should be 'describe') and 'in-house laundry suites' (likely 'in-unit laundry'). Additionally, 'advice' is used as a verb in the final paragraph, but it should be the noun 'advice' or the verb 'advise'. Despite these small slips, your vocabulary is precise enough to communicate your points effectively without causing confusion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'I'm writing to provide you advice on how to select...' and 'These units may annoy you and disturb you while studying.' While the meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical inaccuracies. For example, 'got an admission' should be 'received an offer' or 'was admitted', and 'warn you to not to make' contains a redundant 'to'. There are also minor errors with articles and prepositions, such as 'in the Facebook market place'. However, these errors are non-systematic and do not impede communication, allowing the reader to follow your advice without difficulty.

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

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