Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-17

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 Sony,

Congratulation, Sony. Recently I heard about that you got an admission where I pursued the degree, and I am so excited to guide you through all the process.

As you know, due to my financial circumstances, I lived in a one-bedroom apartment during my college time, which was shared with the other students. This is the best way to focus on your studies, although you can manage the expenses rather than spending a lot for rooms. I think this one is the best for you because there were a lot of scams across the college where agents offered many rooms for a cheaper price. When you remit the fees for the room, they won't attend the phones. I need you to be very careful about this situation. So, my opinion would be you can live here for one month and know the places and people well before you move.

You can contact me at any time without any hesitation; I can surely help with this, as you know I lived there for four years, and I know the people and places well. All the best for your future endeavors.

Best regards,

Joel Jacob Prince

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address all three requested points: you describe sharing a one-bedroom apartment, warn about agents who take payment and then stop answering calls, and advise Sony to spend a month getting to know the area before moving. The warning is the clearest and most useful part. However, the accommodation-search recommendation is not fully clear: “live here for one month” does not explain how to find a suitable place, such as checking university housing services or viewing rooms in person before paying. The description of your own living arrangement is also brief, and the claim that sharing is “the best way to focus” is not explained. Develop these points with practical details and clearer reasoning.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The email has a recognisable structure, moving from congratulations and your own experience to advice and a friendly closing. Paragraphing helps separate these functions, and phrases such as “As you know” and “So” signal relationships between ideas. However, the progression within the main paragraph is not always easy to follow: the link between sharing an apartment, focusing on studies, saving money, and avoiding scams needs clearer explanation. The recommendation to stay for a month also appears after the warning without a clear transition showing how it helps with the search. Use more precise linking and organise the advice into distinct points so the reader can follow each recommendation.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use vocabulary relevant to accommodation and student life, including “one-bedroom apartment,” “shared,” “expenses,” “scams,” and “fees.” These choices make the main situation understandable, and the friendly tone is appropriate for writing to a friend. However, some expressions are inaccurate or awkward, such as “got an admission,” “remit the fees,” and “attend the phones,” which may slow the reader’s understanding. There is also some repetition of “places” and “people.” Aim for more natural collocations and precise terms—for example, describe paying a deposit and agents failing to answer calls. A broader set of practical housing vocabulary would make the advice clearer and more fluent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including the conditional-style advice “When you remit the fees for the room, they won't attend the phones” and the longer sentence beginning “You can contact me at any time.” The overall meaning is usually recoverable, but errors occur in several sentence patterns. For example, “Congratulation” should take a plural form, and “I heard about that you got” uses an incorrect clause structure. “During my college time” and “the other students” also show problems with natural grammatical phrasing and article use. Review clause patterns after verbs such as “hear,” and check agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries. More consistently accurate sentences would make your advice easier to read.

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.