Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-12
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 6.0)
Dear Maham
Congratulation on securing the spot for the esteemed painting course at the Kingsworld University. You hard work of last year has worked and paid off. I understand from your letter that you are looking for an accommodation nearby university, therefore, hereby I am writing to express my experience and lessons i learnt from trail and errors during my stay at university.
As you know, I studied at university for just a year. I first stayed at university hostel for first two months; however, sooner i realised that I needed a more cozy and quiet place to concentrate on studies. Staying at the hostel allowed me to have group discussions with colleagues on different study topics, and reduced my commute time between my classroom and accommodation, but it all came at the expense of my privacy and mental health being. Therefore, soon I opted for staying at nearby town in a one bed house apartment. It was a little expensive than hostel, but provided me a comfortable space to have my me time and focus on my interests.
You can find out a nice accommodation by exploring "Dubbizle.com". This website is very common among people living in that city. This website provides you option to apply multiple criteria to sort out your search. For example, you can set a distance from University and website will only search apartment within that diameter of the distance only. You can also check amenities of a building and vicinity to match your interests.
I recommend you to have a due search, don't repeat the mistakes I and usually other students repeat. Some of the students just looking for a cheap and economical apartments, while others try to be visiting real state offices. Real estate agents usually market you their own interest and would try to sell those areas whereby they have more commissions.
I wish you very best in your search of accommodation. I've changed my mobile number recently, and have written below just for reference to speak wherever you need any help.
Your sincerely,
Muhammad Waqass
[redacted phone]7
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5
The candidate successfully covers all bullet points required by the prompt in a friendly and appropriate tone. The response describes the student's past living arrangements (both the university hostel and a nearby one-bedroom apartment), recommends a specific way to look for accommodation ("Dubbizle.com"), and warns of common mistakes made by students, particularly regarding real estate agents pushing their own interests. The purpose of the letter is clearly conveyed, and the ideas are extended appropriately to fit a general training email format. There are minor slips in initial greetings and phrasing, but overall, the task is well addressed.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The email has a clear logical organisation and progression. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate different aspects of the response, such as past experiences, recommendations, and warnings. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as "As you know," "For example," and "However." However, some linking words are slightly awkward or misused, such as "therefore, hereby I am writing" and "sooner i realised," which detracts slightly from a completely natural flow. Overall, the arrangement is coherent and easy to follow.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The candidate demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary with some attempts at less common items, such as "esteemed painting course," "amenities," and "vicinity." However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors throughout the text, such as saying "secured the spot" instead of "secured a place," "an accommodation" (uncountable noun used with an article), and "due search" instead of "thorough search." Despite these inaccuracies, communication is never impeded, and the vocabulary is adequate for the task.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as concessive clauses ("Staying at the hostel allowed me to... but it all came at the expense of...") and conditional forms. However, there are frequent grammatical errors in articles, prepositions, and verb tenses, such as "You hard work of last year," "nearby university," and "Some of the students just looking for." Capitalisation errors are also present, such as "i learnt" and "sooner i realised." While these errors do not impede communication, they prevent the text from reaching a higher band score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.