Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-14

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 6.5)

Dear Richa,

How have you been? It feels like years since we last meet. I am writing to provide you some information for searching the accommodation. I have heard that you get an offer letter from the same university where I have completed my studies.

When I was a student I used to live at 258 Lester Street apartment which is located only 1 kilometer away from the university. I lived with my four friends, we rented a 2 BHK apartment over there.

I recommend you to search it in Facebook market place application, where usually people tend to advertise about available spaces in their houses. In addition, you can also able to search it on specific website and contact the landlords directly.

Main thing you need to take care is do not trust anyone directly while choosing accommodation. First check the authenticity of the place by checking it on websites and take guarantee for your accommodation. As currently so many people are involved in doing fraud and a number of students have already faced this type of situations.

I hope this advice helps you. If you need any other information further just let me know.

Yours truly,

Himanshi

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three requested points: you describe sharing a two-bedroom apartment near the university, suggest Facebook Marketplace and websites, and warn about checking a property’s authenticity and avoiding fraud. The advice is relevant and the friendly email format is appropriate. The accommodation description is specific, but the recommendation could be more fully developed—for example, explain how to compare listings or arrange a viewing. The warning is also somewhat general: “take guarantee for your accommodation” does not clearly explain what practical safeguard you mean. These details keep some parts less fully developed, although the response already gives the reader useful, task-focused advice.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The email has a clear overall progression: greeting and purpose, your own housing experience, recommendations, a warning, and a friendly closing. Paragraphing helps the reader follow these stages, and transitions such as “In addition” and “As” connect related points. Some links are less smooth or precise, however. The shift from searching on Facebook to contacting landlords could be organised as a clearer sequence of steps, while “As currently so many people…” makes the reason for the warning awkward to follow. The final paragraph also moves quickly from the warning to the closing. More precise referencing and a few smoother transitions would make the cohesion feel less mechanical.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range for this informal accommodation email, including relevant terms such as “landlords,” “available spaces,” “authenticity,” and “fraud.” These choices make the main message clear, and the tone is generally suitable for writing to a friend. Some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “search the accommodation,” “Facebook market place application,” and “take guarantee for your accommodation.” “Offer letter” is also less natural here than a phrase describing acceptance onto a course. These issues do not prevent understanding, but they limit precision and flexibility. Aim to learn common combinations such as “look for accommodation,” “check a listing,” and “verify the landlord.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple sentences and longer structures, including the relative clause in “which is located only 1 kilometer away” and the conditional-style warning beginning “while choosing accommodation.” The message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors persist. For example, “since we last meet” needs a past participle, and “I recommend you to search” has an incorrect verb pattern. In “you can also able to search,” the modal construction is incomplete; “I lived with my four friends, we rented…” also joins two independent clauses with only a comma. Review verb forms, patterns after “recommend,” modal verbs, and sentence boundaries. More accurate control of these structures would strengthen the response.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.