Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-18

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 5.5)

Dear Ajay,

I would like to share some of my experiences while choosing an accommodation in the city where you are planning to come for your course at the same university where I finished my bachelor degree.

I would like to share some best informations by living in the NE area of the city, which would be most preferable as I did. Because, in the NE area we can findout every things: grocery, vegitable, temple, and transportation. The transportation system is best in the NE side, we have to take only 1 bus to reach at the university and they provide the transit pass as well.

I can suggest you that in the NE side, there are lot of my known people living so I would like to give them your reference for your sccommodation or else you could check on the facebook market place, because on that plateform they are advertising lot of rental appartments and houses, so you might get best deal from that.

But I would like to give you some suggestions that please do not confrim your aggrement of living online instead walk-in to that property and book it after checking by your self.

Best Wishes,

Smit.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all three bullet points required in the prompt. You described where you lived as a student by mentioning the NE area of the city and its convenient access to the university. You also recommended the best way to look for accommodation, suggesting Facebook Marketplace and offering to give your friend a reference. Finally, you warned your friend about a common mistake, advising them not to confirm rental agreements online before visiting the property in person. Although the ideas are clear and directly address the prompt, the development is slightly basic and could benefit from greater elaboration and a more natural epistolary tone. However, all parts of the task are appropriately handled, meeting the requirements for a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The email has a coherent overall arrangement and follows a logical structure moving from past experience to recommendations and finally warnings. Paragraphing is used to separate distinct ideas, though the paragraphs are somewhat blocky. Cohesive devices are occasionally mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'I would like to share' and 'because'. Referencing is generally clear, but transitional phrases linking the sentences could be handled with more variety and flexibility. Overall, the organisation is sufficient to guide the reader through the text without confusion, earning a solid Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing you to convey your message about housing, transportation, and precautions. However, there are several word choice and spelling errors throughout the text, such as 'informations', 'vegitable', 'sccommodation', 'plateform', 'appartments', and 'confrim'. You attempt some less common lexical items like 'preferable' and 'reference', but the frequency of spelling mistakes and awkward collocations like 'share some best informations' limits the lexical score. The range of vocabulary is sufficient for basic communication, but these errors prevent the response from achieving a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'I would like to share some of my experiences while choosing an accommodation in the city where you are planning to come...'. There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, including 'while choosing an accommodation' (where 'accommodation' is uncountable), 'reach at the university' (unnecessary preposition), and run-on structures like 'in the NE side, there are lot of my known people living so I would like to give them your reference'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but grammatical inaccuracies occur frequently enough to occasionally cause minor strain for the reader, fitting the Band 5.0 descriptors.

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

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