Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Dear Tim,

I am writing to inform you that I need to extend our original six- month contract for this apartment as I plan to stay for the whole year.

I understand that I should follow the terms of our contract but the situation has changed from the time when I rented the apartment. I came to this town for a six month volunteer program at a charity organization that was required for my medical school application but recently, the administration has made it compulsory to serve the organization for at least 12 months, to be eligible for any further recommendations. Therefore, I need to stay for a whole year otherwise my initial 5 months would be of no use.

Additionally, all the kitchen cabinets need to be renovated since they do not close properly, making them hard to handke abd giving an overall messy look to the apartment.

I would be grateful if you could look into this as soon as possible.

Yours Sincerely,

Ifra

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly stated the desired extension period, provided a logical and detailed explanation for your change in plans, and identified a specific maintenance issue regarding the kitchen cabinets. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a landlord. The ideas are well-developed and the purpose of the letter is clear from the outset. To reach a higher band, ensure that the closing is perfectly aligned with the formal tone, as 'Yours Sincerely' is typically used when the recipient's name is known, which you have done correctly here.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph serves a distinct purpose, moving from the request to the explanation and finally the maintenance issue. You have used cohesive devices such as 'Additionally' and 'Therefore' to link your thoughts effectively. The paragraphing is sufficient for a letter of this length. To improve further, ensure that transitions between sentences are varied; while your current usage is functional, incorporating a wider range of cohesive phrases could enhance the flow even more.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for this task. Phrases like 'extend our original contract', 'compulsory to serve', and 'look into this' are natural and appropriate. There are a few minor errors, such as 'handke' (typo for handle) and 'abd' (typo for and), which slightly detract from the professional presentation. To achieve a higher score, try to incorporate more precise or sophisticated collocations, such as 'request an extension' or 'maintenance issue' instead of 'problem'. Overall, your vocabulary is sufficient to convey your message clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures effectively. For example, the sentence beginning with 'I came to this town...' is well-constructed and complex. There are occasional errors, such as 'six- month' (spacing error) and the aforementioned typos. However, these errors are non-systematic and do not impede communication. Your control over tense usage is generally accurate, particularly when explaining the change in your circumstances. To improve, focus on proofreading for minor punctuation and spelling slips to ensure the majority of your sentences are error-free.

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

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