Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-08
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 Rohit,
Hello! How're you? I'm glad to hear that you got a place in a course at the same university where I studied and you asked me for advice about accommodation.
I stayed at university hostel throughout my course. I found it most suitable place as it not only saved my time but also money. So, I didn't need to travel for classes and spent money on transport.
In order to find a perfect place to live, you can contact university's HR department, which can help you to find out an accommodation at the university's hostel. If you want to stay outside, the best way to search online. Marketplace is the best application that assist to search for a rental place at reasonable prices.
I would like to advice you to check all the facilities before finalizing any place as well as the distance from university. In addition, don't forget to choose an accommodation according to budget as expensive places can increase financial burden that cause unnecessary stress, which later can effect one's academic performance.
I wish all the best for your future and hope this information would help you to select a best place to live. See you soon.
Love,
Soni.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0
You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You described your experience in the university hostel, recommended searching via the university's HR department and online marketplaces, and provided a relevant warning about budget and distance. The tone is appropriate for an email to a friend. To improve, you could provide more specific details about your own experience (e.g., the social atmosphere or specific amenities) to further develop your ideas and make the advice feel more personal and engaging.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0
The email is logically organized with clear paragraphing. Each paragraph focuses on a specific requirement of the task. You use some cohesive devices such as 'In order to', 'In addition', and 'as well as' to link your ideas. However, the flow could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that transitions between sentences are smoother. For instance, the transition between the hostel description and the advice section is a bit abrupt. Overall, the message is easy to follow.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, such as 'financial burden', 'academic performance', and 'finalizing'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation. For example, you use 'advice' (a noun) instead of 'advise' (a verb) in the sentence 'I would like to advice you'. Additionally, 'assist to search' is slightly unnatural; 'assist in searching' or 'help you search' would be more idiomatic. Expanding your range of collocations would help you reach a higher band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical errors. For example, you missed articles in 'best way to search online' (the best way) and 'find out an accommodation' (find accommodation). There is also a subject-verb agreement issue in 'expensive places can increase financial burden that cause unnecessary stress' (should be 'causes'). Despite these errors, your writing is generally accurate enough that communication is not impeded.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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