Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-02
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 Joan,
I hope you doing well. First of all congratulations! I'm glade to hear you that, you got an admission at university, when I completed my educations.
Thank you, To give me pleasure to help you, I hope I make sense.
When I was studied at university. Fortunately one of uncle was living in that city near by university. so, I'm stay with them. and use to drive to reach at destination.
However, I know our university can't provide an accommodation facility so, you have to looked. I suggest you to contact hostel that are not far from the university, because public transportation were not convenient and frequent.
In Addition, Please tried to find out a twin room with attached bathroom and kitchen facilities, so you can share with your classmate or other student. it's available easily on quiet cheaper rate. and you can also manage your food.
I hope these suggestions help.
Best regard.
Tulsi
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
You have addressed all three bullet points required by the task: describing your past living situation, recommending a search method, and warning about common mistakes. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the warning about mistakes is not fully articulated; you suggest looking for a hostel, but you do not explicitly explain what mistakes students typically make when choosing accommodation. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend, but the lack of detail in the advice prevents a higher score. To improve, ensure each bullet point is fully expanded with specific examples or clearer explanations.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The email is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the flow of ideas is often interrupted by awkward phrasing and mechanical errors. While you use some cohesive devices like 'However' and 'In Addition', they are sometimes used incorrectly or do not connect the sentences logically. The referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the second paragraph where the connection between your uncle and the university is slightly confusing. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring that each sentence flows naturally into the next will significantly enhance the coherence of your writing.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
Your vocabulary is generally sufficient to convey your message, but it is quite basic and contains several errors in word choice and collocation. For example, you use 'glade' instead of 'glad', 'educations' instead of 'education', and 'quiet cheaper' instead of 'quite cheaper'. These errors, while not always impeding communication, show a limited range of vocabulary. To achieve a higher band, you should focus on using more precise adjectives and adverbs, and ensure that you are using common collocations correctly. Expanding your vocabulary to include more natural expressions for giving advice would also be beneficial.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, particularly with verb tenses and sentence structure. For example, 'I hope you doing well' should be 'I hope you are doing well', and 'When I was studied' should be 'When I was studying'. There are also issues with subject-verb agreement and article usage, such as 'one of uncle' instead of 'one of my uncles'. While you attempt some complex sentences, they often contain errors that can make the text difficult to read. Focusing on basic sentence construction and proofreading for common tense errors will help improve your accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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