Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-16

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 7.0)

Dear Helena,

Congratulations on securing a spot at McEwan University in Edmonton! You reached one of your greatest milestones in your life. I feel so proud of you!

I received your email asking about accomodations. Thanks for reaching out!

While I first started looking for accomodations, I was very overwhelmed and had no idea about what to do and whether it would be safe. Initially, I rented an apartment in Ellerslie region of Edmonton, with few other students. The neighbourhood is very pleasant, clean, and peaceful. However, it is a very long commute from the university.

I would suggest you to find an apartment around the Downtown area, anywhere near the St. Joseph's Basilica Cathedral, or near the Jasper Avenue area. Not only is it near the university, it is also very lively during nights and weekends. I think you will love that and will get to experience the actual Edmonton city-life. I would also like to mention that it is quite safe compared to other areas of Edmonton's Downtown. There is also a Corona train station nearby, which will allow you to ride across the city at ease.

I would suggest apps like Facebook Marketplace or Kijiji to search for your apartment. It will also be extremely financially beneficial for you if you choose to share your apartment with other students or friends that will make in your university. Be alert from the scammers when you are hunting for a place to live online, since there are plenty of scammers!

I am still in touch with my previous university friends in Edmonton. So, let me know if you would like to have them to get some help with your apartment, or if you simply just want to start building your social circle.

I hope this was helpful. Good luck with your university!

Warm regards,

Shruti.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

Shruti, you have successfully covered all three bullet points required in the task instructions. You described where you lived as a student when mentioning that you rented an apartment in the Ellerslie region, you recommended looking around the Downtown area and using apps like Facebook Marketplace or Kijiji, and you appropriately warned your friend about online scammers. Your tone is consistently friendly, enthusiastic, and entirely appropriate for a General Training informal email to a friend. The purpose of the letter is very clear from the opening sentence, and all ideas are well-extended and supported with specific examples, such as mentioning the St. Joseph's Basilica Cathedral and the Corona train station. This fully satisfies the requirements for a Band 7.5 to Band 8 level in Task Achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

Your email is logically organised with a clear and natural progression from congratulations and greetings to sharing your personal experience, offering recommendations, giving warnings, and providing closing offers of further help. Paragraphing is used effectively and appropriately, with each major point given its own dedicated paragraph. Cohesive devices are handled well, using phrases like 'While I first started', 'Initially', 'However', and 'I would also like to mention' to guide the reader smoothly through the text. Referencing is clear throughout. Although minor mechanical cohesive links could occasionally be smoother, the overall arrangement is coherent and demonstrates strong control, easily earning a Band 7.5.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

You demonstrate a sufficient and flexible range of vocabulary suited to an informal context, incorporating natural expressions such as 'securing a spot', 'milestones in your life', 'social circle', and 'financially beneficial'. However, there are a few spelling and word choice inaccuracies that prevent a higher score. For instance, 'accomodations' is misspelled twice (it should be 'accommodation' as an uncountable noun), and phrases like 'Be alert from the scammers' contain awkward prepositions ('Be alert to' or 'Watch out for'). Despite these minor slips, your lexical range is adequate to convey precise meanings and use some less common phrases effectively, placing your performance comfortably at a Band 7.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You display a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including conditional and relative clauses such as '...whether it would be safe' and '...which will allow you to ride across the city at ease.' There are several error-free sentences, and your punctuation is generally sound. However, a few grammatical errors persist. For example, 'While I first started looking for accomodations' should use 'When' instead of 'While', and 'I would suggest you to find' is grammatically incorrect (it should be 'I would suggest that you find' or 'I suggest finding'). Furthermore, 'friends that will make in your university' contains a missing reflexive pronoun and awkward phrasing. These frequent minor slips place your grammar at a Band 6.5.

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