Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-28

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 Sam,

I hope you are doing well. I am really happy to hear that you have been offered a place on a course at our university. Congratulations! I am writing to give you some advice about finding suitable accommodation.

I lived in a shared apartment near the University because in that way I saved my time and transportation charges. I lived in three bedroom apartment with two other people, so rent was affordable and basic facilities were available. The another important thing is that I shared the kitchen and living area with other students.

I think the best way to find accommodation is you can check the University's official website. You can also join student facebook groups and online platforms where students post information regarding the rental properties. Before making a decision, always visit place first check location, facilities, public transportation and so on.

Majority of the students make these mistakes when they choosing accommodation. Firstly, sometimes students paying a deposit without verifying the lanlord and choosing a place without checking it personally. Secondly, they select cheap accommodation which is far from university and they getting easily tired when they using it on daily basis. Lastly, whenever signing a contract read it properly and ask about utility bill such as electricity, internet, water bill and so on.

I hope you understand all the basic information and if you need more information ask me anytime.

Best wishes,

Kirandeep

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You address all three points clearly: you describe sharing a three-bedroom apartment near the university, suggest the university website and student groups, and warn about deposits, distance, and contracts. The advice is relevant and the friendly opening and closing suit an email to a friend. You also explain some reasons, such as saving time and transport costs and finding rent more affordable with flatmates. To make the advice more fully developed, give a specific example of how to verify a landlord or compare accommodation options, rather than relying mainly on general warnings. The response fulfils the task, but a little more detail would make the recommendations more persuasive and individualised.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The email has a clear progression: greeting and purpose, your own housing experience, search advice, warnings, and a friendly closing. Paragraphing helps the reader distinguish these stages, and signposts such as “Firstly,” “Secondly,” and “Lastly” make the list of cautions easy to follow. The ideas are generally connected logically, including the link between sharing an apartment and affordable rent. Some transitions and references are less smooth, however: “Majority of the students” begins a new point abruptly, and “when they using it” makes the reference to accommodation unclear. Use more natural links between advice and warnings, and ensure each pronoun clearly refers to the intended idea. This would make the progression feel less list-like.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range for this familiar topic, including relevant terms such as “shared apartment,” “rental properties,” “deposit,” and “utility bill.” The vocabulary communicates practical advice, and the tone is appropriately friendly. Some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, though: “transportation charges” is less natural than “transport costs,” “The another important thing” is not idiomatic, and “visit place first” needs a more precise phrase. There are also spelling and form issues in “facebook” and “lanlord.” Aim for more natural accommodation-related collocations and check spelling and word forms carefully. These improvements would add precision and fluency without requiring unnecessarily advanced vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more developed sentences, for example, “I lived in a shared apartment near the University because…” and the advice sentence beginning “Before making a decision…”. The overall meaning remains understandable, but some errors in articles, verb forms, and sentence construction prevent consistently accurate control. Examples include “in three bedroom apartment,” “the another important thing,” and “when they choosing accommodation”; later, “students paying” and “they getting” also need finite verb forms. The instruction to visit a place is compressed into “visit place first check location,” which needs clearer sentence structure and punctuation. Practise accurate article use and complete clauses, then proofread each sentence for a subject and correctly formed verb.

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