Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-30

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 6.0)

Dear Mohit,

I hope you are doing good. Congratulations on getting an admission in Andhra University. It is a great university which educated many scholars and industrialists.

The accommodation offered by the university is very good and secure. It is of less cost and food service is very good. I opted for the university accommodation though there are other options available.

I stayed with my degree classmates comfortably.

There are other hostels near to the university but cost is little more. The food service is also good but it is limited. There are extra facilities like hot water, washing machine, and AC is also available.

While choosing the accommodation, don't consider the factors like extra facilities because some hostels promise to offer them at the time of onboarding but ignore them in reality.

I would suggest to go with the university accommodation because it is cost saving and also secure. Also, we can question the management if there is any issue.

Please let me know if you need any other information.

Best wishes,

Sivaji

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three points and maintain a friendly, appropriate email tone. You describe your university accommodation, compare it with nearby hostels, recommend the university option, and warn Mohit that promised facilities may not be provided. The recommendation is supported by its lower cost and security, so the main advice is clear. To make the response more fully developed, explain more specifically how your friend should search—for example, whom to contact, which university housing channels to check, or how to compare options. The warning is relevant but could also include practical checks such as visiting the property or confirming costs and facilities in writing. This would add the fuller development and support expected at the next level.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The email has a clear overall arrangement: greeting and congratulations, information about accommodation, a warning, a recommendation, and a friendly closing. Paragraph breaks help distinguish these purposes, and the reader can follow your main advice. However, the progression is not always smooth: the paragraph about nearby hostels gives details but does not clearly connect them to how Mohit should search, and the recommendation repeats information already given about cost and security. Some linking is also mechanical, particularly the repeated use of “also.” Use clearer transitions to show comparison and consequence, and make each paragraph advance a distinct part of the advice. This would make the organisation more consistently logical and cohesive.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

Your vocabulary is adequate for the topic, and phrases such as “university accommodation,” “extra facilities,” and “management” communicate the relevant ideas. You also attempt some more specific language, including “washing machine” and “onboarding.” However, several choices are unnatural or imprecise in this context: “getting an admission” and “cost saving” do not sound idiomatic, while “onboarding” is more commonly used for introducing employees or users than for taking up accommodation. “Food service is very good” is understandable but could be expressed more naturally as “the meals are good.” Aim for accurate collocations and a slightly wider range of housing-related terms, such as “residence hall,” “rental listing,” and “deposit,” to make the advice more precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of short statements and longer sentences, including a contrast with “though” and a reason introduced by “because.” Most of the message remains easy to understand, and punctuation generally supports the email format. Some grammatical errors remain, however. For example, “I hope you are doing good” should be “I hope you are doing well,” and “I opted for the university accommodation though there are other options available” would be clearer with a comma before “though.” In “There are extra facilities like hot water, washing machine, and AC is also available,” the list and verb structure do not agree; revise it as “Facilities include hot water, a washing machine, and air conditioning.” More consistent control of articles, sentence structure, and punctuation would improve accuracy.

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

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