Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-04

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 6.0)

Dear Sam, I hope you are doing well, I am writing this letter to inform you about renting an apartment. As you know, it was six-month agreement. But now I have planned to stay here for 1 more year. So now I am not moving next month. There are few reasons why our plan changed. The first one is my sister got the professional job due to that she needs to stay here for atleast one year. After that the transfer may possible. Another one is I am also planning to get enrolled in 6 months course at nearby College. This is best option for us to stay here.

Another one is that there are some problems in apartment. The first one is refrigerator and washing machine are not working properly. They may need repair or replacement if possible. Moreover, paint in bathroom is not shone as before. Bathroom may needs to be painted again. I hope you will help us in this, I am looking

forward to your response.

Yours faithfully,

Jaskarnpreet Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The letter covers all three bullet points required by the prompt: the duration of the extension, the reasons for the change in plans, and the maintenance issues in the apartment. The tone is appropriate for a formal request to a landlord. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For example, the explanation regarding the sister's job and the college course is brief, and the description of the maintenance issues lacks specific detail, which would make the request more persuasive. To improve, you should expand on these points with more descriptive language to ensure the reader fully understands the situation.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the progression of your request. You use some basic cohesive devices such as 'The first one is', 'Moreover', and 'Another one is'. However, the use of these devices is somewhat repetitive and mechanical. The flow between sentences could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words and phrases to connect your ideas more naturally. Additionally, the transition between the request to stay and the mention of maintenance issues is a bit abrupt. Improving your use of cohesive devices will help your writing feel more fluid.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You have an adequate range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly, such as 'agreement', 'replacement', and 'professional job'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'paint in bathroom is not shone as before' and 'my sister got the professional job'. These errors do not impede communication, but they do limit the precision of your writing. To reach a higher band, focus on using more natural collocations and ensuring that your word forms are correct in context. Expanding your vocabulary to include more specific descriptive terms would also be beneficial.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors throughout the text, such as missing articles ('in apartment', 'at nearby College'), incorrect verb forms ('Bathroom may needs to be painted'), and punctuation issues, particularly with comma splices in the opening sentence. While these errors are frequent, they rarely impede the reader's understanding of your request. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles. Proofreading your work for basic sentence structure errors will help you achieve a higher level of accuracy.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.