Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-02
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 Gurnawab,
I hope your are doing fantastic and you find this message well. I am very gald to know that you have been offered a world best University in London to pursue your education. I would like to give you some comprehensive advise about finding an accommodation near by your offered University. Myself used to stay at Starford street in London when i was in the collage. Occasionally, It was just five mintues walk right away from my accommodation. I found myself through Market place and Go skippy.com i refered you to use these two methods to look for your accommodation. I also wanted to make sure you do not make any mistake while finding your place to stay, so my friend i would like to tell you do not stay with any illegial person who don't have right to give you authority to stay in their house. Be careful all the time and focus on your study if you want to become an successfull in future.
I will very happy to see you. Have a great future ahead.
Thank you
Your Friend
Harpreet
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The response successfully addresses all parts of the prompt by describing where you lived, recommending ways to look for accommodation, and warning your friend about common mistakes. However, some areas are more fully developed than others. For example, the description of where you lived is slightly brief and lacks rich detail about the neighbourhood. The recommendation of methods like Marketplace and Go skippy.com is included, but the explanation remains somewhat limited. Similarly, the warning about avoiding illegal sub-letters is relevant, yet the advice could be expanded further to fully develop the ideas for the reader. Nevertheless, the tone is appropriate for an informal letter to a friend and the core requirements of the task are met.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement and the purpose of the communication is clear from the beginning. However, the progression of ideas is occasionally disrupted by a lack of proper paragraphing, as the entire body of the email is grouped into a single block of text rather than being broken down logically. While some cohesive devices and referencing are used, such as 'I also wanted to make sure' and 'so my friend', referencing is at times mechanical or unclear, such as in the abrupt sentence 'Myself used to stay at Starford street'. Improving the paragraph structure and utilizing a wider variety of transitional phrases would greatly enhance the overall flow and organization of the text.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for an informal email, including phrases like 'pursue your education' and 'comprehensive advise'. However, there are noticeable word choice, word form, and spelling errors throughout the text, such as 'gald' instead of glad, 'advise' instead of advice used as a noun, 'near by' instead of nearby, 'collage' instead of college, 'illegial' instead of illegal, and 'successfull' instead of successful. Some less common vocabulary is attempted, such as 'comprehensive', but inaccuracies in spelling and collocation occasionally emerge. These lexical slips do not severely impede communication, but they restrict the range and precision of the vocabulary demonstrated.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response features a mix of simple and some attempted complex sentence forms, demonstrating a limited range of structures. There are several grammatical errors and punctuation issues present throughout the text. Examples include subject-verb agreement and preposition issues in 'I hope your are doing fantastic', pronoun misuse in 'Myself used to stay', and article omissions in phrases like 'world best University' and 'in future'. Punctuation and capitalization are also inconsistent in places, such as 'mintues walk right away'. While these errors in grammar and punctuation exist, they rarely impede overall communication, allowing the reader to follow the writer's intended message without undue difficulty.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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