Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-14
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 Sam,
I hope you are doing well. I'm really thrilled that you have successfully completed your course and now going to get an admission soon in the university.
As I have completed my studies as well from the same university. I would like to give you few suggestions which might helpful for you during your accomodation hunt. During my studies I was living in small town near the city in sharing room. There are many options available near the university but trust me that going to increase your cost of living.
Therefore, I would suggest you to find a place in the same town or near by places which might cost you less and save your money. Also you could find a place online on facebook market place or at campus information board there are many renting advertisements posted everyday for studens
Most of the student spend there entire money on renting houses close to university and later struggle financially. I hope my advice hepls you to find a good accomdation in a budget. Let me know if you need some more information.
With Regards,
Ram
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0
The candidate successfully covers all three bullet points required by the task prompt. First, the writer describes where they lived as a student by stating, 'During my studies I was living in small town near the city in sharing room.' Second, the best way to search for accommodation is recommended through practical suggestions, such as looking 'online on facebook market place or at campus information board.' Finally, a relevant warning is provided regarding common mistakes: 'Most of the student spend there entire money on renting houses close to university and later struggle financially.' The tone is appropriately informal and friendly for an email to a peer. Although there are minor grammatical slips that affect precision, all aspects of the prompt are fully addressed, warranting a solid score for this criterion.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5
The email has a clear and logical overall progression from a friendly opening to specific advice, recommendations, and a concluding warning. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas, such as the living experience, the housing recommendations, and the financial warnings. Cohesive devices are employed to link ideas together, as seen in transition words like 'Therefore' and 'Also'. However, referencing and cohesion are occasionally simplistic or slightly mechanical. For instance, the transition between ideas could flow more smoothly without abrupt shifts in sentence structure. Overall, the organization is coherent and easy to follow, meeting the requirements for a Band 6.5 or 7.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
The candidate demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, utilizing appropriate terms related to housing and student life, such as 'accommodation hunt,' 'cost of living,' and 'renting advertisements.' However, there are noticeable lexical errors and spelling mistakes throughout the text, including 'accomodation' (accommodation), 'studens' (students), 'hepls' (helps), and 'accomdation' (accommodation). The writer attempts some less common vocabulary, but word choice is occasionally imprecise, such as using 'sharing room' instead of a 'shared room.' While these issues do not impede communication, the frequency of spelling and collocation errors prevents the response from reaching a higher band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some variety in structure through clauses introduced by 'which' and 'when.' However, there are frequent grammatical errors and awkward phrasing. Examples include 'now going to get an admission soon in the university' (now going to be admitted to the university), 'As I have completed my studies as well from the same university' (fragment/awkward phrasing), and 'Most of the student spend there entire money' (plural/singular agreement and spelling error with 'their'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but grammatical accuracy is inconsistent, placing the response firmly in the Band 6 category where errors occasionally require the reader to re-read.
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.