Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-15

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 Sara,

I am really glad to hear about you being offered a place on a course at the university.

Also, thank you for asking my advice about finding a place to live. Indeed, finding the right place is the most important thing to do before anything else. I have seen lots of students here at the university who did not give much attention to this part and had sufferred or still suffering, in some cases, because their picked the wrong accommodation. For instance, these students relied on the word of mouth of realtors and trusted them without even looking at the properties themselves.

My first piece of advice will be to check the real estate websites for the available options and do check the shortlisted places yourself. If visiting the place is not possible, I strongly suggest to have a video call with the realtor and ask for the viewing of the place remotely. Secondly, ensure that the place is welll connected with all the utilities, including wifi availability. Trust me, you will be spending most of your time in doing researches for the class assignments.

I got really lucky with the accommodation I was living at. This place was very close to the subway station and this made my daily commute to the university very convenient. Also, there were lots of shops near-by for daily needs which saved most of my time and money, since their prices were at par with the market prices. Not to mention but there was a park at a 5 minutes walk from the place and I used to spend most of my evenings there with my books.

I wish you best of luck and please let me know if you need any help or guidance. I am always available.

Thanks,

Hayyan Tahir

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The email addresses all three requested points and maintains an appropriate, friendly tone. You describe your own accommodation with useful details, including its proximity to the subway, shops, and a park, and recommend checking property websites and viewing shortlisted places. Your warning about trusting realtors without seeing properties is relevant and supported by an example. However, the advice about checking utilities and Wi-Fi is less clearly framed as a common mistake to avoid, and some details about your own place (such as prices being at market level) do not add much to the advice. To strengthen the response, make the warning more explicit and develop the most useful practical cautions, such as checking the lease, costs, or transport before committing. (Nine words copied from the task prompt were not counted.)

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The message is organised into clear paragraphs: opening, general advice and warning, practical recommendations, your own experience, and a friendly closing. This gives the reader a coherent overall progression, and phrases such as “For instance,” “My first piece of advice,” and “Secondly” help signal relationships between ideas. Some linking is mechanical, however, particularly the sequence of “Also,” “Indeed,” and “Secondly.” The order could be more purposeful: describe your student accommodation first, then give the search method and warnings. A few references are also unclear, as in “since their prices,” where “their” appears to refer to shops rather than prices or goods. More varied transitions and clearer pronoun references would make the flow smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range for a friendly advice email, including relevant terms such as “shortlisted places,” “daily commute,” “utilities,” and “accommodation.” These choices help communicate practical information, and the tone is generally suitable. Some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, though: “relied on the word of mouth of realtors,” “well connected with all the utilities,” and “doing researches” do not sound idiomatic. There are also spelling errors, including “sufferred” and “welll.” Aim for more precise, natural combinations and check spelling carefully. For example, you could say “relied on realtors’ recommendations,” “connected to essential utilities,” and “working on research for your assignments.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The email includes a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including conditional advice (“If visiting the place is not possible…”) and a relative clause (“which saved most of my time and money”). Meaning remains clear despite some grammatical errors. For example, “had sufferred or still suffering” has inconsistent verb forms, and “because their picked” needs a different subject form. Other issues include “I wish you best of luck” and “a park at a 5 minutes walk,” where articles or number forms are missing or incorrect. The sentence beginning “Not to mention but” is also awkwardly constructed. Review verb forms, articles, and singular/plural agreement, then proofread longer sentences to improve accuracy while retaining your range.

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

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