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 John,

How have you been? I hope everything is going well with you and your family.

It's a great to hear from you after so long and I am very happy that you got selected in the same University in which i studied. Well, I used to live in the shared apartment in the Alymer area of the Gatineu City as it is very convinient place for students.

I think the best approach for finding a room in the Quebec is on indeed application because they respond very quickly and the best part is that they offer most of the accommodations for students only. However, I have seen some fake advertisements about the rental places on instagram.

Addiotionally, I would like to provide you some advice before you choose your place. As many young ones book their rooms without asking if the utilities would be included in the rent or not? Consequently, they had to pay extra charges each month. On top of that, Please be aware of the scammers who used to put fake ads about rental rooms. I would suggest you verify each information before booking it.

Please don't hesitate if you need any help. Can't wait to see you soon!

Best wishes,

Deep.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You address all three points in the task and maintain an appropriate, friendly tone. You describe your student accommodation and location, recommend Indeed as a way to search, and warn about both fake advertisements and unexpected utility costs. The advice to “verify each information before booking” also gives your friend a practical next step. The main limitation is that some ideas are asserted rather than fully explained: for example, you say the area is convenient but do not explain why, and the recommendation about Indeed would be more convincing with a specific search tip or a clearer reason it is the best option. Overall, the response is relevant and developed, though a few points remain general.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The email has a clear progression: greeting and personal context, a description of your former accommodation, recommendations, warnings, and a friendly closing. Paragraphing helps the reader follow these different purposes, and linking expressions such as “However,” “Additionally,” and “On top of that” make relationships between ideas clear. This is a coherent overall arrangement. At times, though, the connections feel slightly mechanical, particularly where several warnings are introduced in succession. The reference in “they respond very quickly” is also not fully clear: it could refer to the application or to advertisers. To strengthen cohesion, vary the transitions and make pronouns and references more explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range for a friendly email, including relevant terms such as “shared apartment,” “utilities,” “rent,” and “fake advertisements.” Phrases such as “extra charges” and “verify” help communicate practical advice. However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, including “a great to hear,” “convinient place,” “rental places,” and “each information.” There are also spelling and capitalization slips, such as “Addiotionally,” “instagram,” and “University.” These do not prevent understanding, but they reduce precision and polish. Aim for more natural combinations and check spelling carefully; for example, use “a great pleasure to hear” or “great to hear,” and “rental listings.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including the reason clause in “as it is very convenient” and the result link in “Consequently, they had to pay extra charges.” Most of the message remains easy to understand, and the errors rarely obstruct meaning. Some grammatical inaccuracies persist, however: “It's a great to hear” has an incorrect article and structure, while “the same University in which i studied” has an awkward relative construction and incorrect pronoun capitalization. The question mark in “whether the utilities would be included in the rent or not?” is also inappropriate because the clause is embedded in a statement. Review articles, relative clauses, and punctuation, and aim to produce more consistently accurate complex sentences.

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

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