Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-05

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 Lee,

I am writing to request you regarding extension of my current lease agreement. Originally, I rented your apartment for six-months; however, I want to stay in the apartment for more than 6 months.

As my current lease of six-month is expiring soon, I have tried to find a bigger house because my brother is moving with me from next month. However, I am unable to find suitable house for us in our budget from next month. Hence, I want to continue my stay for 2 more months so that I can get enough time to look out.

Moreover, my brother was not planning to move with me before as he has high-wage job right now where he lives. But he has all his friends and loved ones in this town which encouraged him to move with me so he just informed me before a week that he is coming and that is how my plan was changed.

Although I love to stay in your apartment, I have to change it because it is really small for 2 people so I am looking for spacious one with 2 bedrooms.

Thank you for understanding. Hoping to hear from you soon.

Yours faithfully,

Arti

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed all three bullet points in the prompt: you specified the duration of the extension, explained the change in your circumstances regarding your brother, and mentioned the need for a larger space. However, the third bullet point—telling the owner about a problem in the apartment—is missing. You mentioned that the apartment is 'small,' but this is a preference rather than a maintenance issue or a problem with the property itself. To improve, ensure you explicitly describe a functional issue, such as a leaking tap or a broken appliance, to fully satisfy the task requirements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized into paragraphs, each focusing on a specific aspect of your request. You use some cohesive devices like 'Moreover,' 'However,' and 'Hence' to connect your ideas. However, the flow between sentences is occasionally mechanical, and some transitions feel slightly abrupt. For instance, the jump between discussing the lease extension and the brother's job situation could be smoother. Using a wider variety of linking phrases and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence would help improve the overall flow and coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. Phrases like 'lease agreement' and 'suitable house' are appropriate for the context. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'look out' (which should be 'look around' or 'search for') and 'high-wage job' (which is better expressed as 'well-paid job'). Additionally, 'before a week' is unnatural; 'a week ago' would be more accurate. Expanding your vocabulary to include more precise collocations would elevate your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'request you regarding' (should be 'request an extension'), 'my plan was changed' (passive voice is unnecessary here; 'my plans changed' is better), and 'it is really small for 2 people' (should be 'two people'). There are also minor issues with article usage and prepositional phrases. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and refining your use of articles will help reduce these errors and improve the accuracy of your writing.

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

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