Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-26

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 Ritu,

Hope you are doing well! I am very happy to hear about your placement in one of the courses at the same university where i studied. I would be happy to assist you in finding an accomodation near the university campus.

When i was a student, I lived at singleton avenue, London. It's a 10 minutes drive to Western University. There are so many apartments nearby singleton avenue that are usually available for students to rent. You can find essential stores like Winners, Loblaws, Michaels at walking distance.

The best way to find an accomodation is to login at Kijiji app and communicate with building managers. Additionally, realtors and third party people usually post vacancies there. Moreover, they leave their email address and contact number too under these advertisements. However,I had lost my contacts when i changed my phone else i could have referred you my building manager 's number.

Further,please keep in mind not to interac any money except booking amount to an unknown person even if you like and want to finalise an accomodation. I have heard students easily get scammed while finding places as there are new and do not have much knowledge about rules and regulations.

Hope my suggestion helps you find a good place.

Yours lovingly,

Mannie

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You address all three requested points in a friendly, appropriate email. You describe your former location and its proximity to the university, recommend using Kijiji and contacting building managers, and warn Ritu about sending money to unknown people. The warning is supported by the risk of scams, while the accommodation-search advice includes useful details about advertisements and contact information. The response also maintains a clear purpose and suitable personal tone. To make the advice more fully developed, explain more specifically how your friend could check a listing or verify a landlord, and clarify the distinction between a legitimate booking deposit and other payments. This would make the practical guidance more precise rather than somewhat general.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The email is organised in a clear sequence: greeting and purpose, your own accommodation experience, search advice, a warning, and a closing. Paragraphing helps the reader follow each part of the task, and linking expressions such as “Additionally,” “Moreover,” and “Further” show how details relate. The progression is generally logical, and the personal reference to losing your former manager’s contact fits the advice section. Some transitions feel slightly mechanical, however, and “Further” is less natural here than a direct transition such as “One important warning.” The sentence beginning “However, I had lost my contacts” also interrupts the flow a little. Smoother links between ideas would make the organisation feel more effortless.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “building managers,” “vacancies,” “finalise,” and “scammed,” and the meaning remains clear throughout. There are attempts at more specific language, but some choices or collocations are inaccurate or informal: “interac any money” is not the natural expression, and “third party people” is awkward. “Placement in one of the courses” is also less precise than a phrase describing acceptance onto a course. Spelling and word-form control need attention in “accomodation” and “login.” Aim for natural collocations and consistent spelling, while retaining the useful topic-specific vocabulary already present. More precise wording would make the advice sound clearer and more polished.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including the conditional construction “else I could have referred you” and the reason clause explaining why students may be scammed. Most sentences communicate the intended meaning, but some grammatical and punctuation errors remain. For example, “It's a 10 minutes drive” needs a singular time expression, and “as there are new” lacks a clear noun or pronoun reference. The sentence beginning “However,I had lost” also needs spacing after the comma, while “building manager 's” has incorrect spacing around the possessive. Capitalise “I” consistently. Reviewing articles, plural forms, and punctuation in longer sentences would improve accuracy without sacrificing the range you are attempting.

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

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