Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-31
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 5.5)
Dear shivani,
I hope you are doing well.Its been while since we spoke last time.I wanted to tell you about the room that,i had rented during my acedemics.Actually, i had stayed in university hostel that, is owned by government itself.
Furthermore,if you want a nice place to live,i would recommend you to check university offical website.I think you can also make account on website, so that you can get alert when accomodation is available.In addition, you can visit to RG pg to check if they have something available and they provide meals as well.
Lastly,I don't want you to rent a room near beer bar because that area is very crowed and its not safe for girls.students always choose that pg because in that area they charge less rent but i recommend you to choose a og in good safe area
live
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
You address all three requested points: you say you lived in a university hostel, suggest checking the university website and a local PG, and warn against renting near a beer bar. These details make the email relevant and give your friend some practical direction. However, the advice is only partly developed: explain how to compare listings or verify a room before paying, and give clearer reasons for avoiding the area beyond saying it is crowded and unsafe. The final recommendation is also difficult to follow because it ends abruptly. The response contains 142 words, so it is eight words below the required minimum; this limits the opportunity to develop the advice fully.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5
The message has a recognisable sequence: a friendly opening, a description of your former accommodation, recommendations, and a warning. Linking expressions such as “Furthermore,” “In addition,” and “Lastly” help signal these stages, and the reader can generally follow your purpose. To make the progression more effective, separate the ideas into clear paragraphs and connect each recommendation to its reason. Some transitions feel mechanical, and the final lines—“i recommend you to choose a og in good safe area / live”—are fragmented, so the conclusion does not clearly complete the warning. Use clearer referencing and finish with a complete closing thought, perhaps followed by a friendly sign-off.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
Your vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main points, including “university hostel,” “accommodation,” “available,” and “rent.” You also attempt useful phrases such as “make account” and “get alert,” but these are not natural collocations; “create an account” and “receive an alert” would be clearer. Spelling errors, including “acedemics,” “offical,” “accomodation,” and “crowed,” are noticeable and sometimes make the reader pause. The repeated use of general words such as “nice,” “something,” and “area” also limits precision. Build a small set of accurate housing-related expressions and check spelling carefully, especially for key terms in the task.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You communicate through mostly simple sentences and make some attempts to combine ideas, for example, “I think you can also make account on website, so that you can get alert…” However, errors in sentence construction, articles, verb forms, and punctuation are frequent enough to affect fluency. Examples include “Its been while,” “I had stayed in university hostel,” and “I recommend you to choose”; these need more accurate forms such as “It’s been a while,” “I stayed in a university hostel,” and “I recommend choosing.” Commas are also placed incorrectly in “the room that,i had rented” and “hostel that, is owned.” Practise complete sentence patterns and proofread for articles, tense, and punctuation.
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