Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-04
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 Harry,
I hope you are doing great! I recieved your letter about you got an offer in a course at University of Toronto, Canada. First of all, congratulations for getting accepted in that university. And I see you were asking my suggestions for accomodation.
To begin with, when I moved to Toronto for my masters I used to live in a shared rented apartment near to my campus, because univeristy dorm was quite expensive and was out of my budget. You can find places on multiple places such as Facebook Marketplace or Kijiji, where people post regarding availabiliy of space. Moreover, if you want to rent your own apartment, there are rental websites, available on google, to meet your requirements. The transport facility is affordable and well connected routes around the city will help you reach campus easily, even if you live a bit further with better housing.
I would also like to warn you about the culture at the university! As many drug options are legally available in the country, students with wrong friend circle end up getting addicted to such products, please be careful!
I hope to meet you soon in Toronto!
Yours sincerely,
John
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5
You have addressed all three bullet points of the task: describing your past accommodation, recommending search methods, and providing a warning. The tone is appropriate for an email to a friend. However, the warning regarding 'drug options' is somewhat tangential to the prompt's request for advice on 'choosing accommodation'. While it is a warning, it does not directly relate to the housing selection process itself (e.g., avoiding scams or poor locations). To improve, ensure your advice remains strictly focused on the specific topic requested in the prompt to ensure full task development.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0
The email is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a closing. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Moreover', and 'I would also like to warn you' to guide the reader. However, the transition between the housing advice and the warning about drugs is quite abrupt. The paragraphing is sufficient, but the flow could be improved by using more sophisticated linking phrases to connect the ideas within the paragraphs, rather than relying on simple sentence starters.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, such as 'shared rented apartment' and 'well connected routes'. There are some minor spelling errors, such as 'recieved' (received) and 'accomodation' (accommodation), and some awkward phrasing like 'post regarding availabiliy of space'. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your message clearly, it lacks the variety and precision required for a higher band. Using more precise collocations would elevate your writing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical slips, such as 'I recieved your letter about you got an offer' (should be 'about your offer' or 'that you got an offer') and 'congratulations for getting accepted in that university' (should be 'on getting accepted to'). Additionally, 'there are rental websites, available on google, to meet your requirements' is slightly clunky. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focus on subject-verb agreement and correct preposition usage.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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