Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-05

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 Jessie,

I hope you are doing well. Your mom visited me few days back. she was passing by my house and decided to visit. She told me you got a seat in Humber University in Business Management course. As I graduated from the same college she was asking me to find a location for you or give you advice to find the best one.

When I was a student, I lived in 66th street which is infont of the University. My experience of that street was amazing as beside that street there is a plaza where you can get your groceries and also there are some fast-food restaurants. It would be the best place for you as it is close to University and in winters you don't need to take busses after buying groceries.

I do have some friends who are still living in the same apartments as before. I will request them to look for an apartment for you. Also I would recomment you to search on applications like kjiji, house finder or now home to search for houses close to that area.

Also, when I moved in my first apartment I made some mistakes while selecting accommodation. I want you to not repeat those mistakes. First was to look for place which is close to a garden. In winters these gardens are of no use so make sure you choose the one that is close to mill woods town centre. Secondly, not focusing on the size of the apartements.I want you to make sure the place is spacious before any further step. Furthermore, If you need any sugestion I am here to help. You can write me a letter anytime according to your comfort.

Kind Regards,

kakxy

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully covers all bullet points required by the task, showing a clear understanding of the semi-formal email format. You appropriately describe where you lived as a student by mentioning 66th street and its convenience. You also recommend looking for accommodation using applications like Kijiji, and successfully warn your friend about common mistakes such as ignoring the distance to town centres or apartment size. However, some ideas remain slightly under-developed; for instance, the explanation of past mistakes could be expanded with more precise context to fully reach the higher bands. The tone is consistently friendly and appropriate for writing to a friend about starting university.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

Your email displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear, logical progression of ideas from greeting to the final sign-off. You use paragraphing sufficiently and appropriately to separate your points, dedicating individual sections to your past living situation, recommendations, and warnings about mistakes. While your organization is clear, referencing and cohesion are occasionally a bit mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent use of transition words like 'also' and 'firstly'. Improving the variety of your linking devices and ensuring smoother transitions between sentences will help elevate the flow of your writing to the next level.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task and successfully communicates your message, but it remains somewhat basic and limited in range. You make attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'spacious', 'convenience', and 'accommodation', but there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors that slightly detract from the response. For example, words like 'infont' instead of 'in front', 'recomment', 'apartements', and 'sugestion' demonstrate some spelling inaccuracies. Additionally, phrasing like 'got a seat' could be replaced with more natural collocations. To improve, focus on expanding your range of less common lexical items and pay closer attention to precise word forms and spelling.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

Your writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, effectively communicating your ideas. You manage some moderately complex structures, such as relative clauses and conditional sentences like 'It would be the best place for you as it is close to University'. However, there are some errors in grammar and punctuation throughout the text, including missing articles ('close to University', 'in winters'), incorrect prepositions ('visited me few days back'), and minor punctuation slips. These errors do not impede communication, but they occur with enough frequency to prevent the grammar score from rising higher. Ensuring better control over articles and prepositions will greatly strengthen your grammatical accuracy.

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

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