Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-11-09

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You live in a small apartment building with a parking lot in back, and you often cannot find an empty parking space when you get home from work.

Write a letter to your landlord. In your letter
• describe the situation.
• explain why it bothers you.
• suggest something the landlord could do to solve the problem.

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear ____

Student answer (Band 7.0)

Dear Mr David, This is Dominic Paul, your tenant from flat 4b, In the second floor of your apartment at oniru estate.

My concerns are centered around the fact that i have been experiencing some challeges related to the availability of an unoccupied parking space late in the evening after i return home from work during the weekdays.

This has really been an issue of major concern for me because it puts my mind in disarray anytime i think of the situation of having to drive aimlessly in the parking lot looking for a space to park everytime after work. it also puts my car in danger of being stolen or scratched by passer bys, as i am forced to park outside the apartment most time.

I noticed this situation started when Mr victor, the occupant in flat 4d recently started accomodating his cousin, who has been around for about three weeks now. Unfortunately for me, this person i just mentioned happens to return earlier than me and makes use of my allocated parking space before i return from work.

I really do not intend to cause any qualms, i would really like the situation to be resolved amicably. i noticed there is a parking space that is unoccupied, because the tenant staying there doesn't own a car, so i suggest that the management gets a message across to Mr victor, so he can communicate with his cousin to make use of that parking space instead.

Thanks for your immediate attention to this matter.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 8.0

The letter covers all three requested points clearly: you describe the recurring lack of spaces after work, explain the inconvenience and security concern, and propose that the cousin use an available space. The details about the cousin staying with the tenant in flat 4D and using your allocated space make the complaint specific and well supported. Your wish to resolve the matter amicably also gives the request an appropriate, measured tone. To make the response even more complete, clarify whether the unused space is available for the cousin’s regular use and ask the landlord to confirm or arrange the change. This would make the proposed solution more precise and actionable.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The ideas progress in a clear order: you introduce yourself and the problem, explain its effects, give a possible cause, and then suggest a solution. This makes the letter easy to follow, and phrases such as “because” and “Unfortunately” help show the relationships between points. However, the response is presented as one continuous block, so the shifts from the problem to its impact and then to the proposed action are less clearly signposted. Divide it into short paragraphs, with one main purpose in each. Also, the opening and closing would feel more complete with a conventional sign-off, and the repeated use of “I noticed” could be varied to make the progression smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use a suitable range of vocabulary for a formal complaint, including “allocated parking space,” “resolved amicably,” and “availability.” These choices communicate the issue and your preferred tone effectively. There are also attempts at more expressive language, such as “puts my mind in disarray,” but this is not a natural collocation in this context; “causes me considerable stress” would be clearer. Some spelling and word-choice slips, including “challeges,” “accomodating,” and “passer bys,” reduce accuracy, while “gets a message across” is rather conversational for a letter to a landlord. The range is adequate and sometimes ambitious; more precise collocations and careful proofreading would make it more consistently natural and controlled.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The letter includes both simple statements and longer sentences with subordinate clauses, for example, “I noticed this situation started when…” and the sentence explaining why the problem concerns you. Meaning remains clear despite some grammatical and punctuation errors. In the opening, “In the second floor of your apartment at oniru estate” is not integrated correctly into the sentence; write, for example, “I live on the second floor of your apartment building at Oniru Estate.” Capitalisation and sentence boundaries also need attention: “i” should be “I,” and several sentences begin with a lowercase letter after a full stop. Review articles and prepositions, and break up the long sentence about the parking risks. These changes would improve control while retaining your range of sentence forms.

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

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