Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-10

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 Owner,

Hoping you are doing great, As the tanent of apartment 13, I am here to request you an extantion in lease agrement. I know my previous lease is getting over next month. However, my deparment want me to stay a little longer and finish some extra work. It leads me to stay one more month in the city, Hoping for extention in my lease about a month.

There is another thing I whould like to ask. In my bathroom, a tap is broken and its consistanly leaking water drop by drop, the leaking water is going under the sink cabinates. which is making me worried, that it may damage the cabinates. Because they are made out of wood. It need to be repaired as soon as possible. I think, the maintainence guy will be able to fix it without any issue.

Hoping you will help me with the lease and the repair issue. Thankyou so much in advance.

Regards

Akash

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The letter addresses all three bullet points required by the task: the duration of the extension, the reason for the change in plans, and the maintenance issue. The tone is appropriate for a formal request to a landlord. However, the development of ideas is somewhat brief. For instance, the reason for the extension—that the department wants the writer to stay—is stated but could be elaborated upon to provide more context. Despite this, the purpose of the letter is clear, and all parts of the prompt are covered, meeting the requirements for a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organized into logical paragraphs, with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. The progression of ideas is generally easy to follow. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and limited. For example, the transition between the request for the extension and the maintenance issue is abrupt. The use of referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the sentence 'It leads me to stay one more month', where the antecedent is slightly ambiguous. Overall, the structure is coherent, but the flow between sentences could be improved with more varied linking words.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to communicate their needs effectively. There are several spelling errors, such as 'tanent' (tenant), 'extantion' (extension), 'agrement' (agreement), 'deparment' (department), 'consistanly' (consistently), and 'maintainence' (maintenance). These errors are frequent enough to be noticeable but do not prevent the reader from understanding the message. To reach a higher band, the writer should focus on accuracy in spelling and attempt to use more precise collocations, such as 'request an extension' rather than 'request you an extension'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the writer attempts complex sentences, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles, prepositions, and verb forms (e.g., 'my deparment want me' instead of 'wants me', 'a tap is broken and its consistanly leaking' instead of 'it is consistently'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with some sentences ending prematurely or using commas where periods are required. These errors are frequent, but because they do not impede the overall meaning, the response sits at a Band 5.5 level.

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

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