Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-29
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 Harman,
I hope you are doing well. Congratulations on getting accepted to the university,I am so happy for you.
When I was a student there, I lived in a shared flat about a 15-minute walk from the campus. I had my own room, but I shared the kitchen and living room with two other students. It was cheap and made it easy to make friends.
The best way to look for accommodation is to start with the university's Official Accommodation Office. They list safe, verified properties and reliable landlords. You can also join official student housing groups on social media to find available rooms. There is good rooms and accomodations.Some time a flat in sharing.
I have to aware you from that type of students who take drugs and do any bad acctivity.
It will be very effective for your study and for your future. Be carefull to chose your room'mates it is depend on your life goal.
If they are good in study and playing some games that's great because games is also important with study.
write and tell me all about yourself.
Best wishes,
Manpreet
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response successfully covers all three bullet points required by the prompt. First, the writer describes where they lived when they were a student, mentioning a shared flat near the campus with their own room and shared common areas. Second, they recommend the best way to find accommodation by suggesting the university's official Accommodation Office and social media groups. Third, they attempt to warn the friend about mistakes, such as avoiding bad company. However, the tone becomes slightly disjointed and less natural towards the end with phrases like 'There is good rooms and accomodations' and 'I have to aware you from that type of students.' Furthermore, the warning bullet point is somewhat vague and focuses on behavioural issues rather than typical student accommodation selection mistakes. Nevertheless, all parts of the task are addressed, earning a solid Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The email has a clear overall arrangement and appropriate greeting and sign-off conventions. Paragraphing is utilised to separate the introduction, personal experience, recommendations, and warnings, although some paragraphs are very short and abrupt. Cohesive devices are occasionally mechanical or faulty, as seen in the sudden transition to 'There is good rooms and accomodations' and the fragmented sentence structure that follows. Referencing is generally clear, but logical progression falters towards the end of the body where ideas about roommates, studying, and playing games are lumped together without smooth transitions. Therefore, this performance fits the Band 6 descriptor well.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully communicating everyday concepts such as 'shared flat,' 'campus,' 'landlords,' and 'accommodation.' However, there are noticeable lexical errors and awkward collocations, such as 'I have to aware you from that type of students' (instead of 'warn you about'), 'bad acctivity' (spelling error), and 'Be carefull to chose your room'mates' (spelling and phrasing issues). While the writer attempts some less common vocabulary, inaccuracies in word choice and spelling prevent the response from reaching a higher band. The vocabulary is minimally sufficient for general communication, justifying a score of 6.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates a mix of simple and some complex sentence forms, such as 'When I was a student there, I lived in a shared flat about a 15-minute walk from the campus.' However, there are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation issues, particularly in the second half of the letter. Examples include subject-verb agreement errors ('There is good rooms'), incorrect prepositions and verb forms ('aware you from', 'depend on your life goal'), and comma splices in the opening lines ('getting accepted to the university,I am so happy'). Despite these errors, the meaning remains mostly clear and does not severely impede communication. This balance of mixed structures and persistent errors aligns with the Band 5.5 to 6.0 criteria, comfortably earning a 6.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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