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 Chris,

I hope you are doing well. I am thrilled to know that you are going to the same university for further studies where I studied. So, I want to give you some piece of advice for accommodation.

First of all, I want to tell you about the place where i lived. It was just five minutes walk from the university. There was a beautiful six story building called shiksha sadan. That was specially designed for students who came from far away, including all necessary amenities available. And it is also affordable.

That is why i want to recommend you this place to live, but as there are limited space available. So, i recommend to enroll online and reserve your spot now.

Students usually think about accommodation after arrived to the campus. And this is the big mistake that you should avoid. It not only save your time and effort after moving in but also saves you lots of money.

I wish you all the best for your future. If you need any more assistance you know where you can find me.

Yours Sincerely,

Alan

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three points in the task: you describe a student residence near the university, recommend reserving a place online, and warn Chris not to leave the search until arriving on campus. The specific detail that the building is a five-minute walk away and has amenities helps make the advice relevant. This meets the task well, but some ideas are less fully developed than others: the accommodation recommendation focuses on one named building without explaining how Chris could compare or verify options, and the warning gives only one potential mistake. To strengthen the email, add practical advice such as checking the contract, total costs, or location before paying, and explain why these checks matter. The friendly email purpose and tone are clear throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The email has a clear overall arrangement: an opening, a paragraph about your former accommodation, a recommendation, a warning, and a friendly closing. Sequencing phrases such as “First of all” and “That is why” help the reader follow the progression, and the ideas are generally easy to understand. However, some linking is mechanical or awkward: “but as there are limited space available. So” breaks one idea into an incomplete construction, while “And it is also affordable” begins a sentence with a connector that adds little. The reference to “this place” is understandable, though the recommendation could be more clearly connected to the earlier description. Use fewer formulaic transitions and combine related points into smoother sentences to make the cohesion more natural.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range for a friendly email, including relevant terms such as “amenities,” “affordable,” “reserve your spot,” and “accommodation.” These choices communicate the main advice, and the building’s name and description add useful specificity. There are, however, some inaccurate or unnatural word combinations and forms, such as “some piece of advice,” “limited space available,” and “after arrived to the campus.” “Further studies” is also less natural in this context than a direct reference to starting university. These issues do not prevent understanding, but they limit precision and naturalness. Aim to learn common collocations as complete phrases, and choose wording that clearly distinguishes searching for accommodation from booking a particular residence.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple sentences and more developed structures, including the relative clause “who came from far away” and the contrast in “It not only save your time and effort … but also saves you lots of money.” The message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors persist. For example, “five minutes walk” needs a possessive form, “there are limited space” has a number-agreement problem, and “after arrived” needs a correctly formed clause or gerund. In “It not only save,” the verb does not agree with its subject; the following “saves” makes the mismatch especially noticeable. Capitalise “I” consistently, and check sentence boundaries: “So” after the full stop leaves the preceding clause incomplete. More accurate control of these patterns would improve the email.

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

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