Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 friend,

I am happy to know that you have been offered a course in the university. I would happy assist for the finding the good place to live near university.

When I was student, I used to live near the North York st, west, which is convinently close to our university. All the store and walmart are very close, you can easily go while strolling, also the down town is just 15 min away. Most of the essentials things like buying grocerries and normal house chores product can be found withthin this area.

What I would recommend along with your seach, you should find small apartments or small condo from the local realtors or local real-estate website. You will find more options to choose and also it will be easy for you to decide based on your budget. with that, I would also warn you as you're student. Do not pay anything in advance on the website if they ask you any specific amount upfront. Other then that you will be okey.

I wish you the best luck for you new journey and how to see you soon.

Yours,

Karan

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three requested points: you describe living near North York Street and mention nearby shops and the university, recommend searching through local realtors or property websites, and warn against paying money upfront. These details make the email relevant and useful. The description of your former area is the most developed part, while the accommodation advice and warning are briefer; for example, the warning focuses on advance payment but could also mention checking the property in person or reading the lease before agreeing. The friendly purpose and closing are clear. To strengthen the response further, extend the practical advice with one or two specific steps and make the recommendation more decisive about which search method you consider best.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The email has a clear overall structure: an opening, a paragraph about where you lived, a paragraph giving advice and a warning, and a closing. This makes the main points easy to locate. You also use linking expressions such as “When I was a student,” “What I would recommend,” and “Other than that” to guide the reader. However, some connections are awkward or mechanical, particularly “What I would recommend along with your search,” and the advice and warning are crowded into one paragraph. The sentence about nearby shops also joins several details with commas, making the progression less smooth. Use clearer transitions and separate the accommodation recommendation from the warning to make the organisation more polished.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including relevant terms such as “local realtors,” “real-estate website,” “budget,” and “upfront.” The references to shops, groceries and household needs also help make the description specific. However, several spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable, including “convinently,” “grocerries,” “withthin,” and “seach.” Some phrases are also unnatural or imprecise, such as “normal house chores product” and “the good place to live.” These do not prevent the reader from understanding your message, but they limit precision and naturalness. Check spelling carefully and learn common collocations for accommodation advice, such as “household supplies” and “a suitable place to live.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentence forms, and the reader can generally follow your meaning. However, errors occur across basic structures and sometimes make sentences awkward. For example, “I would happy assist” is missing “be” and uses an incorrect verb pattern; “When I was student” needs an article; and “All the store … are” has a subject–verb agreement problem. The sentence beginning “What I would recommend” is also not formed as a complete, clear recommendation. There are some correctly formed clauses, but control is not consistent enough for more complex sentences to read smoothly. Practise complete sentence patterns, articles, agreement and verb forms, then proofread each sentence for a clear subject and verb.

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