Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-26
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 6.0)
Dear/ Jan,
How are you doing? I hope you doing really well. Congratulations for the opportunity to join the programming course in my university. I bet you will enjoy your study there a lot.
Regarding your inquiry about a place to stay. I totally recommand the unviersity student accommodtion. I spent all my years at university staying there. it was a very clean and organized building with many rooms vary between single, double and trible rooms. although the price for single was very affordable. I prefered to stay in a triple room to have the chance toget to know people and make friends during my stay.
I definitely recommened this place for you to stay in, it is located near the university, so you should not spend much time on your way. also this accommodation offers meals so you will not have to cook or search for restauranrts daily. in addittion and what I think it is an amazing advantage that it has a small library. it is open around the day so if you like to stay up late you can go there do some research or reading a book.
However, I must warn you to be careful a little bit, I know a lot of student during their search choose to stay in private flat and did not pay attention to other details, such as how near it was to the university. is the rent include the other bills such as electricity and gas or not? are they in need to a private room for studing or it is good to stay with other students. such small points turn their time into a really hard time, although they could just arrange all of that if they just give that topic a thought.
to sum up, I am really happy for you, and I really recommend unversity student accommodtion for you to stay. But if you wouls rather to stay in a private apartment, I hope you will pay full attention to all what I've mentioned.
Hope to hearing from you soon
your friend
Diana
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5
The student has successfully covered all bullet points required in the prompt. First, the writer describes where they lived as a student by mentioning the university student accommodation and its features, such as single, double, and triple rooms. Second, the accommodation is clearly recommended with reasons like its proximity to the university, included meals, and a small library. Third, the student warns the reader about common mistakes, such as choosing private flats without considering distance, utility bills, or study environment. The tone is appropriately friendly and informal for a letter to a friend. The purpose of the communication is fully achieved, with all prompt requirements met effectively.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The letter is logically organised into clear paragraphs, each addressing a distinct part of the task, such as greeting, past living experience, recommendations, and warnings. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Regarding your inquiry', 'I definitely recommended', and 'However, I must warn you'. However, there are some mechanical transitions and punctuation issues, such as starting sentences with lowercase letters ('it was a very clean...', 'also this accommodation...') and minor referencing errors. Paragraphing is used appropriately to guide the reader through the different sections of the letter, resulting in a coherent overall structure that meets the Band 6 descriptor well.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for a general letter, using words like 'inquiry', 'accommodation', 'advantage', and 'environment' (implied). There are several spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'recommand' instead of 'recommend', 'unviersity' instead of 'university', 'trible' instead of 'triple', and 'trible room'. Despite these errors, the meaning remains clear throughout the response. The student attempts some less common vocabulary, but recurring spelling mistakes and occasional imprecise word choices prevent the score from reaching a higher band level.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional and relative clauses ('if you like to stay up late you can go there do some research'). There are several grammatical errors and punctuation issues throughout the text, including sentence fragments ('Regarding your inquiry about a place to stay.') and missing auxiliary verbs ('I hope you doing really well'). Questions are incorrectly framed as statements ('is the rent include...'). While these errors are noticeable and require some effort from the reader to parse, they do not completely impede communication. The control of grammar is consistent with a Band 5.5 to 6.0 performance.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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