Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-20
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 friend,
I hope you are doing well. I am very happy for you to select in international top unversity in canada. During my study, I live in an apartment in silmon street and its took me around 10 minutes walk to unversity and also I like that place and having no traffic on the streets, quite peaceful environment.
I will suggest you best way to finding the accommodation is to search on marketplace and add price in it. Then, you will find good and reasonable as well as variety of options over there.
Moreover, in that city transit expenses are quite high, I think is best to see the house nearby to unversity through which it saves your time and money. Also, finding the private room will be a good idea as many student suffer to adjust with someone due to noise issue or little conflict can cause so many problems. I hope you you will like my advise and also look forward for your response if you need more help.
Yours faithfully,
r
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response covers all three bullet points required by the prompt. You successfully described where you lived as a student by mentioning 'an apartment in silmon street' and that it took a '10 minutes walk to unversity'. You also recommended the best way to find accommodation by suggesting to 'search on marketplace and add price in it'. Finally, you warned your friend about common mistakes, noting that transit expenses are high and advising them to find a private room because 'many student suffer to adjust with someone due to noise issue'. However, some ideas are slightly under-developed and general, placing this response at Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The email has a clear overall arrangement and follows an appropriate structure for an informal letter, starting with a friendly greeting and ending with a sign-off. Cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'Then', and 'Also' are used to connect ideas, although referencing and linking can be somewhat mechanical at times (e.g., 'through which it saves your time and money'). Paragraphing is attempted, but grouping all the advice into one large middle block makes the text slightly difficult to navigate. Overall, the organizational structure meets the requirements for a Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing you to convey your message clearly. You make several attempts at less common phrasing, such as 'quite peaceful environment' and 'transit expenses'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors throughout the text, such as 'select' instead of 'accepted', 'unversity' instead of 'university', and 'silmon' instead of a capitalised street name. Furthermore, phrasing like 'little conflict can cause so many problems' is rather basic. These limitations reflect the characteristics of a Band 5.5 lexical resource.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'I will suggest you best way to finding the accommodation is to search on marketplace'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede smooth reading, including tense inconsistencies ('During my study, I live'), incorrect prepositions ('search on marketplace'), and awkward clause structures ('I think is best to see'). Punctuation is also weak, with run-on sentences joined by commas rather than full stops (e.g., 'and also I like that place and having no traffic on the streets, quite peaceful environment'). These issues place your grammar at a Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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