Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

Dear Hana,

I'm writing to help you finding a place to live in when you come to study . There is no free accomadation When I come here so I rent an apartment with my friends, We are three girls everyone has her own room and we share bathroom and kitchen. Unfortunatly, there is no empty rooms in our apartment . We can find anotheR group to share the apartment with thems so you don/t have to pay much money or we can find a special room for you but be carful you have to check every thing before you deliver the room as you have to pay if something damage in it or lost. Also you have to be sure that the person who deiver the room to is the real owner, you can ask him for the contract and his ID. Hope you enjoy in the country and more success .

Your friend,

Mona

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address the main purpose of advising Hana and include relevant details about your own living arrangement: you shared an apartment with two friends, with separate bedrooms and shared facilities. You also offer practical advice about sharing costs and checking the room and the owner’s identity. However, the recommendation for how to search is not fully clear: “We can find another group” does not explain where or how Hana should look, such as through university housing services or trusted rental listings. The warning about checking for damage and confirming ownership is useful, but the advice could be more fully explained. Develop these points and make the recommended search method explicit so every part of the task is clearly covered.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The email follows a broadly sensible order, moving from your own accommodation to possible arrangements and then to warnings. The greeting and sign-off also suit the friendly context. However, most of the content is compressed into one long paragraph, and several ideas run together, particularly the options for sharing an apartment and renting a room. The repeated use of “and” and the abrupt shift from your past experience to advice make the progression difficult to follow. Separate the email into short paragraphs and use clearer links such as “When I was studying…” and “To find a place, I suggest…”. This would make the relationships between ideas easier to understand.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant accommodation vocabulary, including “apartment,” “share,” “bathroom,” “kitchen,” “contract,” and “ID,” so the reader can understand the general situation and advice. However, the range is limited, and several spelling or word-choice errors make parts less clear, such as “accomadation,” “anotheR,” “thems,” and “deliver the room.” Some expressions are also unnatural, including “enjoy in the country” and “more success.” Choose more precise phrases for renting and checking a property, and proofread spelling carefully. For example, “inspect the room before moving in” would communicate your warning more naturally than “check every thing before you deliver the room.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt to combine ideas using clauses, for example, “you have to check everything… as you have to pay,” but the response relies heavily on long, joined sentences, and errors often make the relationships between ideas unclear. Examples include “help you finding” instead of “help you find,” “When I come here” where a past form is needed, and “everyone has her own room” after “We are three girls,” which creates an agreement problem. Sentence boundaries and punctuation also need attention: the opening section contains several independent clauses joined with commas. Use shorter sentences, check verb forms and agreement, and punctuate each complete idea clearly.

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

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