Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-28

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 5.5)

Dear Ali,

Hope you find this letter in your best time. I'm writting this letter ,to explain you my unversity and his accommodation.

When i was a student, i live in the unversity hostel because its cost effective, although near to my university as well. I have also some major issues like my budget, and the timings of my course.

If you want budget friendly accommodation, than you definatly go with university hostel. On the other hand if you have a good budget than i preffer to go with private flat. Its good and also your personal space no one distrub you, while you are studying.

I tell you something about accommodation. First you check the area where you searching for, also check the conncetion of water supply. One more thing is important to check, the room is not in a busy street because the noise is not good while studying. I think this the major things to check i phase lot of issue because no one is telling me what is good or what's not good.

Wishing you best of luck.

Best Regards,

Hurera

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed all three bullet points required by the task: describing your previous accommodation, recommending a search method, and providing a warning. However, the development of these points is somewhat limited. For example, while you mention the university hostel and private flats, the advice on how to actually find them (e.g., using university websites, local estate agents, or student forums) is vague. The warning about busy streets is relevant, but the explanation of your own past experience is a bit repetitive. To improve, ensure you provide more specific, actionable advice that a friend would find truly helpful, and expand on your personal anecdotes to better support your recommendations.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The email follows a logical progression, moving from your experience to recommendations and then to warnings. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and occasionally inaccurate. For instance, the transition 'On the other hand if you have a good budget' is used, but the overall paragraphing is weak; the entire body of the email is essentially one large block of text. Using clear paragraph breaks for each bullet point would significantly improve the readability and structure of your response. Additionally, some referencing is unclear, such as 'I tell you something about accommodation', which feels abrupt as a transition.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'cost effective', 'budget friendly', and 'private flat'. However, there are several instances of word-choice errors and spelling mistakes, such as 'writting', 'unversity', 'distrub', and 'conncetion'. These errors are frequent enough to be noticeable but do not prevent the reader from understanding your message. To reach a higher band, focus on improving your spelling and using more precise collocations, such as 'utility bills' instead of 'connection of water supply' or 'noise pollution' instead of 'the noise is not good'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

You use a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include 'Hope you find this letter in your best time' (incorrect idiom), 'I live in the unversity hostel' (tense inconsistency), and 'than you definatly go' (incorrect conjunction and spelling). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with missing commas and incorrect capitalization. While the meaning is generally clear, the high frequency of errors in basic grammar and sentence construction limits your score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and consistent verb tenses will help improve your accuracy.

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

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