Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-19
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 in radiant health and best of spirit. I am excited to know that you have received an offer from the Carlton University and I am writing this letter in response to your queries regarding the accomodation services.
During my studies, I was living on the John St. Although there are few other places nearby the campus, John St was the most affordable place to live. You have to book your apartment in advance as it is a popular location among learners. Additionally, I was about to save a considerable amount of money because my house was just few steps away from the university's main gate.
The best way to look for accommodation is through facebook marketplace as there is no broker fees involved. Furthermore, you can also look for advertisements on the university's marketing borad on the second floor. Most of the students looking for a flatmate or roommate post an ad there becasue it is free of charge.
In addition to this, I would like to warn you from few mistakes that students make while searching for a living space. Firstly, never pay in advance unless you trust the person or obtain a rental agreement. Secondly, try to find a place close to the univeristy becaise it lets you save travel time and expense.
Wishing you all the very best for your studies.
Yours lovingly,
Achin
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0
The response covers all three bullet points of the task effectively. You successfully describe where you lived ('on the John St... most affordable place to live'), recommend the best way to look for accommodation ('through facebook marketplace' and the university's marketing board), and warn your friend of common mistakes ('never pay in advance' and 'find a place close to the university'). The tone is appropriately friendly and consistent with an informal letter to a peer. All requirements of the prompt are fully met with clear, relevant ideas.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0
The letter is logically organised with a clear beginning, body paragraphs addressing specific parts of the prompt, and an appropriate closing. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate different topics, such as your past experience, recommendations, and warnings. Cohesive devices are employed to guide the reader, including connectors like 'Additionally', 'Furthermore', and 'In addition to this'. However, referencing and cohesion could be slightly smoother in places, which places this firmly in the Band 7 category.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.5
You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary for the task, including functional items like 'affordable', 'accommodation', 'advertisements', and 'rental agreement'. There are some minor spelling slips, such as 'accomodation' instead of accommodation and 'borad' instead of board, as well as minor lexical choices like 'broker fees' (usually 'agency fees' or 'broker's fees'). Despite these occasional errors, the vocabulary is adequate to convey your message clearly and appropriately.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as conditional ideas and time clauses. There are some grammatical errors, such as 'I was living on the John St' (unnecessary article 'the' before a street name with a number abbreviation), 'just few steps away' (missing 'a'), and 'warn you from few mistakes' (preposition error: 'warn you against' or 'warn you about'). However, these errors do not impede communication, and the majority of sentences are understandable.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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