Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-21

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 Joban,

I am pleased to know that you have got the admission in the prestigious University of Toronto. I know you were trying for a while and I had told you to keep working hard.

When I was a student in University, I used to live in the apartments located directly opposite to the gate number 3. There are lot of other options available for accomodation in the nearby area as well, however, they are pretty much in good condition relatively to other accomodations availale near thomsom park area. Moreover, they has all the amenties in the neighbouring shopping plaza, be it groceries or convenience store. Most importantly, nearest library is just 5 minutes walk.

However, while checking for the rooms, be careful and make sure all the appliances are working properly particularly heating system because the winters in Toronto are brutal and you cannot survive without it.

Hope you find the best accomodation

With love,

Amitoz Singh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

The candidate has successfully covered all three bullet points required in the task instructions in a friendly and engaging manner. Firstly, the email clearly describes where the writer lived when they were a student, mentioning the apartments located opposite gate number 3. Secondly, it recommends the best way to look for accommodation by exploring nearby options and highlighting convenient access to local amenities and shopping plazas. Finally, the writer warns the friend about common mistakes, specifically emphasizing the importance of checking heating systems due to harsh winters in Toronto. The tone is completely appropriate for an informal email to a friend, and all parts of the prompt are addressed well, demonstrating a clear and fully developed set of ideas throughout the response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The email is logically organized with a clear overall progression that guides the reader naturally from the congratulatory opening to the personal experience, recommendations, and warnings. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different themes, such as the living history in the second paragraph and the cautionary advice in the third paragraph. Cohesive devices are employed adequately, with transition words like 'Moreover' and 'However' linking ideas together smoothly. Referencing is generally clear, and although there are slight awkwardness elements in transitional flow, the logical structure remains robust and easy to follow from start to finish.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The candidate displays an adequate and generally appropriate range of vocabulary suitable for an informal recommendation email. Words and phrases such as 'prestigious University', 'amenities', and 'neighbouring shopping plaza' demonstrate a satisfactory lexical resource. However, there are some noticeable spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'accomodation' (repeatedly misspelled) and 'availale', as well as minor collocation inaccuracies like 'relatively to other accomodations availale'. Despite these lapses, the vocabulary used is sufficient to communicate the message clearly, and the candidate attempts less common lexical items with moderate success.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer utilizes a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as conditional and relative clauses ('Make sure all the appliances are working properly particularly heating system because the winters in Toronto are brutal'). There are several grammatical errors and punctuation issues, including subject-verb agreement slips ('they has all the amenties'), missing articles, and punctuation omissions. For instance, 'got the admission' is slightly unnatural, and 'relatively to' should be 'relative to'. Nevertheless, these errors do not impede communication, and the underlying meaning remains clear throughout the response, showing a fair command of sentence formation.

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

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