Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-07

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 kay,

I am writing you this letter to advise you on finding a place to live in as I studied at the university and I know the places around the corner and I can help you not to repeat the mistakes I did.

When I was a student I stayed at university dorms which is in the centre of city and in the university itself from where I was easily able to commute to the classes and market for my groceries. It also gave me an opportunity to explore the city with my dorm friends without taking any public transit.

The easiest way to look for an accomodation is the university website called "living made easy" from where you can look for your preference rooms with their pricing and it also shows couple locations outside university which are close.

When I was looking for accomodation, I did a big mistake of not matching the price with other options available a I remember most of the international students in my class choose to live outside university in a walking distance in the half price of what I provided to the university. So, you can search for really good rooms in your pocket friendly budget as a student.

Let me know if you need any help or advise,

Kind regards,

Navnoor

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 living situation in the dorms, recommended the 'living made easy' website, and provided a clear warning about comparing prices to avoid overpaying. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend, and the purpose is clear throughout. To reach a higher band, you could expand slightly more on the 'warning' aspect by explaining the potential consequences of not researching, such as poor location or lack of facilities, which would add more depth to your advice.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The email is logically organized with clear paragraph breaks for each point. You use some cohesive devices like 'When I was a student' and 'The easiest way', which help the flow. However, the transitions between sentences are sometimes a bit mechanical. For instance, the connection between the dorm description and the recommendation could be smoother. Additionally, some referencing is slightly repetitive. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph flows naturally into the next would help you achieve a higher score in this criterion.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. Phrases like 'commute to the classes' and 'pocket friendly budget' are relevant and natural. However, there are some spelling errors, such as 'accomodation' (accommodation) and 'advise' (advice - used as a noun). You also rely on some basic phrasing, such as 'big mistake' and 'really good rooms'. To improve, try to incorporate more precise collocations and ensure accurate spelling of common academic and housing-related terms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical slips, such as 'I am writing you this letter to advise you' (should be 'to give you advice'), 'which is in the centre' (should be 'which was'), and 'in the half price' (should be 'at half the price'). These errors do not impede communication, but they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and correct preposition usage will significantly improve your accuracy.

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

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