Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

Dear Paramjit,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing to suggest you a place where i lived.

When I took an admission at the Baba Farid University Of Health Science (Faridkot). Intially, I took a hostel for me but after the six months, I decided to replaced it with PG.

I can recommend you hostel and PG. Since I lived in a hostel, I had to face so many issues including crowd, inappropriate facilities, small rooms, rooms were small and consists of three to four girls. I was not able to concentrate fully on my studies. Therefore, I choose to stay at the PG. I would like to request that you should take a apartment.

When choosing an apartments, I would recommend you that you should visit street no. 16. There are various apartments and also affordable, as well as select girls pg, where you do not need to worry about safety issues.

I hope it will help you for finding an accommodation. If any further enquiry, you can contact me.

Thank you,

Yours lovingly,

Rajandeep Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response addresses the main parts of the prompt, but some areas are only partially covered or lack sufficient development. You successfully mentioned where you lived as a student by referring to your time in a hostel and a PG, and you attempted to recommend a way to look for accommodation, such as visiting street no. 16. However, the warnings about mistakes students make when choosing accommodation are limited and under-developed, relying instead on a general mention of crowd and facilities issues rather than clear guidance on pitfalls to avoid. To move to a higher band, all bullet points from the prompt need to be fully explored with extended, well-supported details and clear examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter maintains a basic level of organisation, using paragraphs to separate different points, such as your past living situation and your current recommendations. However, there is a lack of clear overall progression, and cohesive devices are sometimes repetitive or inaccurate, as seen in transitions like 'Intially' and 'Therefore'. Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as shifting abruptly between hostels, PGs, and apartments without smooth logical links. To improve in coherence and cohesion, you should ensure that ideas flow more naturally from one sentence to the next using a wider and more accurate range of linking words and clearer referencing.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task, but the range is limited and contains noticeable errors in word choice and collocation that can cause some difficulty for the reader. Phrases like 'took an admission' instead of 'enrolled' or 'applied', and 'replaced it with PG' instead of 'moved to a paying guest accommodation', demonstrate restricted lexical control. There are also issues with word forms, such as spelling 'Intially' incorrectly. To achieve a higher score, you need to use a wider range of less common vocabulary with greater precision, ensuring natural collocations and correct spelling throughout your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The text relies on a limited range of sentence structures, and your attempts at complex sentences are frequently faulty. There are multiple grammatical errors, including issues with prepositions and articles, such as 'take a apartment' instead of 'take an apartment', and tense inconsistencies like 'I choose to stay' instead of 'chose'. Additionally, problems with plurals and sentence construction occur, such as 'rooms were small and consists of three to four girls'. These frequent errors can occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. To improve your grammar score, you should focus on increasing your control over complex sentence forms, verb tense consistency, and basic articles.

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

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