Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-04

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 Rajan,

Hope you are doing splendidly! Congratulations for the admission in your dream university. It's been absolute ages since we last caught up.''How have things been going withyou and your family?"

At very first, I used to live at university appartments. I shared the appartment with three other girls. Then I moved out and started to living by myself within 8 months.

I would like you to search a place on online platforms like Kijiji, Marketplace etc. You can also contact a house rental company. I will also look for the place near oxford street. I will contact one of my friend, he used to live there for a long time.

Listen to me very careful, do not give any deposits before your arrival. Sometimes they are doing fraud. New comers are usually not aware about the policies and rent rate in that area. I would like you to ask for a real image when you see any house online, because sometime they edited well with AI.

We will catch up soon! I will send some houses and link of those applications to you. Take good care of your self and give my best wishes to your family.

Best regards,

Maitri

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address all three requested points in a friendly, appropriate email. You explain that you first lived in university apartments with three other girls and later lived alone, recommend online platforms and a rental company, and warn Rajan about paying deposits before arrival and checking images. These details make the advice relevant and personal. The accommodation-search advice is less fully developed than the warnings: “search a place on online platforms” and contacting a friend are useful starting points, but you could explain how to compare listings or verify a landlord. The warning about local rent and policies is also somewhat general. The response covers the task well overall, with some ideas needing further explanation to make the advice more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The email has a clear overall sequence: congratulations and personal background, accommodation suggestions, cautions, and a friendly closing. Paragraphing helps the reader distinguish these stages, and phrases such as “Then,” “I would like you,” and “Listen to me” signal the purpose of each section. Some connections are less smooth or precise. For example, “I will also look for the place near oxford street” shifts from advising Rajan to describing your own future action, so the relationship between the ideas is unclear. The opening also moves abruptly from a greeting to several questions. Keep the warm tone, but use clearer links between your personal experience and the recommendations, and make references such as “there” unambiguous.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range for a personal email, including relevant terms such as “university apartments,” “rental company,” “deposits,” “policies,” and “rent rate.” The friendly expressions “splendidly” and “catch up” also help establish an informal tone. However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, including “admission in your dream university,” “search a place on online platforms,” and “they are doing fraud.” There are also spelling and form issues, such as “appartments” and “New comers.” These do not prevent understanding, but they reduce precision and naturalness. Aim for common, accurate combinations such as “admission to,” “search for accommodation on,” and “scammers may be operating,” and check spelling before sending.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple sentences and some longer structures, and the message remains understandable throughout. The sentence “I shared the appartment with three other girls” is a clear example of accurate basic structure, while “Sometimes they are doing fraud” attempts to explain a risk. Some grammatical errors remain, particularly with verb forms, articles, and sentence construction: “started to living by myself” should be “started living by myself,” and “At very first” needs a different construction, such as “At first.” “I would like you to ask for a real image when you see any house online” is also awkwardly structured. Improve control of infinitives and gerunds, and review article use and punctuation; more consistently accurate sentences would make the advice easier to read.

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