Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-07-28

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

Five months ago, you started renting an apartment on a six-month agreement. You now wish to stay in the apartment for longer than the six months you originally agreed with the owner.

Write a letter to the owner of your apartment. In your letter

• say how long you now want to rent the apartment for
• explain why your plans have changed
• tell the owner about a problem in the apartment

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear ....................................,

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Hi

Hope you are doing well

I would like to say about the apartment, we were planning to rent these apartment for at least two years but now we want to quit our lease as the air conditioner is not in working condition, washroom is also in pity condition its not good for our children , lock is not working and the bath tub is also leaking apart from all these kind of things we need to change the chimney for kitchen as its nor working we are unable to make our meal. As i have to children ,they have to go for school at seven am daily because of chimney we take more time to make a meal for them . Besides this we have no extra keys for the apartment as you told us before that you will give us the new keys. So me and my husband decide to leave.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response fails to address the core prompt. The instructions explicitly ask you to write to the owner to request an extension of your lease. However, your letter states the opposite: 'we want to quit our lease'. By deciding to leave rather than requesting to stay, you have fundamentally misunderstood the task requirements. While you do mention problems in the apartment, which covers one bullet point, the primary purpose of the letter is contradictory to the prompt. To improve, ensure you carefully read the scenario and align your response with the specific goal requested by the examiner.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter lacks paragraphing, which makes it difficult to follow. It is presented as a single block of text, which is inappropriate for a formal letter. There is a lack of cohesive devices to link ideas; sentences are often strung together with 'and' or 'as', creating a repetitive flow. For example, the transition between the list of apartment problems and the decision to leave is abrupt. Using clear paragraph breaks for the introduction, the request, the explanation, and the problems would significantly improve the logical progression of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is quite limited and repetitive. You use basic descriptors such as 'not in working condition' and 'not good' multiple times. There are also errors in word choice, such as 'pity condition' (likely meaning 'poor' or 'deplorable') and 'make our meal' (more naturally 'prepare meals'). The range of vocabulary is insufficient to express your points with precision. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more specific adjectives and collocations related to housing and maintenance, such as 'deteriorating', 'malfunctioning', or 'urgent repairs'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The grammar contains frequent errors that occasionally impede communication. There are issues with subject-verb agreement ('I have to children'), missing articles ('go for school'), and run-on sentences that lack proper punctuation. The structure is almost entirely composed of simple or loosely connected clauses, lacking the complex sentence structures required for higher bands. Punctuation is largely absent, which makes the text feel like a stream of consciousness rather than a formal letter. Focusing on basic sentence construction, including correct use of periods and commas, is essential for improvement.

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