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 kiran
I hope you are doing good. I am very elated to know you are going to englang for your masterwhen I studied in wolverhampton university then I lived near the university in wolverhampton town. I took a flat near there city centre.It was very convenient for me get the university by walk. All the shopping centre are very near to my accomdation.
I found this accomdation through "your moving" website. This website is very good and providing very affordable prices for students.
When you will choose your living space then you will keep in mind that place should be peaceful.Secondly place will not be far away from your university.Thirdly, don't take sharing flat or house.
I hope this advice might be helpful to find your to let flat.see you soon. best of luck for your new journey.
Babita
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The candidate has addressed all parts of the prompt, including describing where she lived as a student, recommending a way to look for accommodation, and warning about common mistakes. However, the response is under the required word count, falling short at 140 words compared to the minimum of 150 words. While the ideas are relevant, some points are slightly underdeveloped due to the brevity. For instance, the warnings about choosing a peaceful place and not taking a shared flat are stated quite simply without much extension. Consequently, because the length requirement was not met and certain bullet points could have been more fully expanded, a band 5.5 is appropriate here.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The email has a logical overall progression and follows a natural informal correspondence structure, starting with an appropriate greeting and closing. Paragraphing is used to separate the different points required by the prompt, such as the personal experience, the website recommendation, and the warnings. However, cohesion at the sentence level is occasionally faulty or mechanical, as seen in transitions like 'Secondly place will not be far away' and 'Thirdly, don't take sharing flat'. Referencing and linking devices could be managed more smoothly. These minor organizational and cohesive flaws place this aspect of the writing firmly at a band 6.0.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, though it is somewhat limited and contains noticeable errors. The candidate successfully attempts some less common phrases like 'elated', 'convenient', and 'affordable prices'. However, there are numerous lexical and spelling inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'englang' instead of England, 'accomdation' and 'accomdation' misspelled repeatedly, and collocation issues like 'get the university by walk' instead of walk to the university, and 'to let flat' instead of flat to let. Despite these issues, the intended meaning is generally communicated. This level of lexical control matches the descriptors for band 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting conditional structures ('When you will choose your living space then you will keep in mind') and relative clauses. However, grammatical accuracy is weak, with frequent errors in verb tenses, prepositions, and articles. Examples include 'I hope you are doing good', 'masterwhen I studied', 'near there city centre', and missing articles in 'don't take sharing flat'. The future tense is incorrectly used in subordinate clauses instead of the present simple. These persistent errors can occasionally cause some difficulty for the reader, though communication is not severely distorted. A band 5.0 is reflective of this grammatical control.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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