Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-09

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)

Dear sir,

I am writing this letter in regard to change our rentel agreement which we did 4 may 2026.

I am Ashraf Shaikh. Now i am living in your apartment. Room numbar is 309, i have been living there since 4 months with my family. I came here because of my work.

now my work is extend for 6 months. I want to rent the apartment for extra 6 month. I know we agreed for 6 months only but now i need more 6 month.

Furthermore, some problems I faced in this room like water leaking and neghbour's party. Firstly you send plumber because I have no contects.Than you give notice to Mr. Patel who live in 308. He alwaiys arrenge party in night. play music very loudly.

Hope you looked in this metter and as soon as possible you sovle this prpblem.Thank you for considred me.

Yours faithfully,

Ashraf Shaikh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The letter addresses all three bullet points: the duration of the extension, the reason for the change, and the maintenance/neighbor issues. However, the development is quite basic. The explanation for the change is brief, and the request for the plumber and the complaint about the neighbor are stated rather than elaborated upon. To reach a higher band, the ideas should be expanded with more detail to create a more natural, persuasive tone. The tone is generally appropriate for a formal letter, though the lack of a clear opening and closing structure (e.g., 'Dear Mr. Smith') slightly affects the professional presentation.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the progression of ideas. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and limited. Transitions like 'Furthermore' and 'Firstly' are used, but the flow between sentences is often abrupt due to grammatical errors and short, choppy sentence structures. Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the phrase 'some problems I faced in this room', which could be more smoothly integrated. Overall, the message is easy to follow, but the lack of sophisticated linking makes the writing feel disjointed.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the message but is quite basic and repetitive. There are several spelling errors, such as 'rentel', 'neghbour', 'contects', 'alwaiys', 'arrenge', and 'prpblem', which occur frequently throughout the text. These errors are noticeable and detract from the overall quality of the writing. While the student attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary (e.g., 'agreement', 'plumber', 'notice'), the range is limited, and the word choice is often simplistic. Improving spelling and using more precise collocations would significantly enhance this score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response relies heavily on simple sentence structures. There are frequent grammatical errors, including missing articles ('in this room', 'in night'), incorrect verb tenses ('I have been living there since 4 months'), and subject-verb agreement issues ('you send plumber'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with several run-on sentences and missing commas. While the meaning is generally clear, the high frequency of errors in basic grammar prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. More attention to sentence construction and proofreading for basic errors is necessary.

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