Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-07

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 Sir,

I am writing to discuss the issue of parking spaces at the parking lot in the back of the apartment. There are less parking spaces in the parking lot than there are tenants residing in the apartment. A few tenants, including myself end up parking by the road side, as well as by the entrance of the gate. I hope you can be of assistance in providing a solution to this issue.

The issue of parking bothers me alot because the parking lot provides the only legal space which tenants can park their cars. Parking by the road side creates an inconvenience which could lead to getting towed by the government, thereby paying extra cost to pick uo my car from a towing company.

In addition, parking in front of the gate creates a disorganized situation in the apartment and can affect tenants daily activities. For example, when a tenant parks in front of the gate, they block the access to the road which can cause delay for me when I try to leave for work.

It would greatly be of help if you could expand the parking lot to include parking spaces for every tenant. Numbered parking spaces would increase the efficiency in each tenant navigating the parking lot to reduce disorganization and clusters.

Yours faithfully,

Gideon Njoku

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 8.0

The letter addresses all three requested points clearly: it describes the shortage of spaces and where tenants park, explains the risks and disruption this causes, and proposes expanding the lot and assigning numbered spaces. The reasons are relevant and supported with concrete examples, particularly the possibility of being towed and delays when leaving for work. The request to the landlord is polite and the purpose is clear throughout. To make the response even more complete, clarify whether the shortage is based on a known number of tenants and spaces, and briefly acknowledge any practical alternative if expansion is not possible. Overall, the ideas are well developed and the task is covered effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The letter has a clear progression: the opening establishes the parking problem, the next paragraphs explain its personal and communal effects, and the final paragraph offers a solution. Paragraphing is appropriate, and linking expressions such as “In addition” and “For example” help the reader follow the explanation. Some connections are slightly mechanical, and the final proposal moves quickly from expanding the lot to numbered spaces without explaining how numbering would address the shortage itself. You could make the progression more seamless by distinguishing the two proposals and showing how they work together. The overall organisation remains clear and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for explaining the situation and its consequences, with useful terms such as “legal space,” “towed,” “access,” and “disorganized.” However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, including “alot,” “extra cost,” and “increase the efficiency in each tenant navigating.” “Parking lot” and “parking spaces” are repeated often, so a few precise alternatives would improve flexibility. There is also a spelling slip in “uo.” These issues do not prevent understanding, but they limit the precision and naturalness of the language. Aim for standard spelling and more idiomatic phrases when describing costs, access, and allocation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentences, including a relative clause in “the only legal space which tenants can park their cars” and a conditional example beginning “when a tenant parks.” Most sentences communicate the intended meaning, and the paragraph structure supports readability. Some grammatical errors remain, such as “There are less parking spaces” (use “fewer”), the missing comma in “including myself end up,” and “tenants daily activities” (a possessive form is needed). The phrase “which tenants can park their cars” also needs a more suitable grammatical construction, such as “where tenants can park.” These are generally understandable, but checking agreement, possessives, and clause structure would improve accuracy.

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