Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-12

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 Smith,

I am writing this letter to extend my apartment's rental agreement duration which is expiring soon.

We had signed the agreement only for six month, however, I would like to live for another 6 months. I am attending the SFU university which is located nearby this apartment, and the course in which i am enrolled is supposed to be finished in next month, however, our university has extended the course for another 6-months, so this can make me easier to attend the classes. Along with this, all amenities such as shopping mall, grocery stores ,and supermarkets are closer to this location.

I never had any issue in this apartment, but from the last month, I am dealing with the leakage issue in the washroom. I tried to fix it by myself, and I am unable to repair this leakage.

Please extend the rental duration and send plumber to fix the leakage issue.

I expect positive and prompt response from you. If you have any further questions, please feel free to reached out me.

Yours sincerely,

Marco

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The letter addresses all three bullet points of the prompt: the duration of the extension, the reason for the change, and the maintenance issue. The tone is appropriate for a formal request to a landlord. However, the development of ideas is somewhat basic. For instance, the explanation regarding the university course extension is a bit repetitive, and the mention of local amenities is slightly tangential to the core purpose of the letter. To reach a higher band, the student should focus on providing more cohesive and relevant details regarding the request for extension while ensuring the maintenance issue is described with enough clarity for the landlord to take action.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each serving a distinct purpose. The progression of ideas is generally easy to follow. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and repetitive (e.g., 'Along with this', 'however'). The transition between the request for extension and the maintenance issue is abrupt. While the paragraphing is sufficient, the internal flow could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that referencing (e.g., 'this location', 'this leakage') is always precise to avoid ambiguity.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to communicate their needs clearly. There are some instances of slightly unnatural phrasing, such as 'deal with the leakage issue' or 'make me easier to attend'. While the student attempts to use specific vocabulary related to renting and maintenance, the range is somewhat limited. There are no significant spelling errors, but the word choice lacks the precision and sophistication required for higher bands. Expanding the range of collocations related to housing and formal requests would significantly improve the score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'six month' (should be 'six months'), 'in next month' (should be 'next month'), and 'feel free to reached out me' (should be 'feel free to reach out to me'). Additionally, there are minor punctuation and article usage errors throughout the text. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. The student should focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of prepositions to improve 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.