Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-15

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 7.0)

Dear Smith,

I hope you are doing well! I am writing this letter to check if there are any possibilities to extend my house rental contract.

Since I will be completing 6 months lease in the August 26th. I would like to extend my agreement for another 6 months due to enhance my career opportunities.

Actually, I was supposed to complete my Project management course in August 20th but recently I received update from my course advisor that there will be a campus selection will be held by several renowned organisation in the month of November. Therefore, I would like to extend my contact to grab the opportunities and foster my career growth in the city.

As I already informed earlier about the water leakage from the kitchen sink, this started causing numerous damage to the cupboards and floor mats and house smells extremely awful to stay. Hence, it will highly appreciated if you can arrange professional plumber for inspection.

I hope you will consider my request and look into the issue.

Yours sincerely,

Anjali Reddy

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

The letter successfully addresses all three bullet points required by the prompt. You clearly state the desired extension period, provide a logical reason for the change in plans related to your career and course, and describe the maintenance issue regarding the water leakage. The tone is appropriate for a formal request 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 transition between the request for extension and the maintenance issue is slightly smoother, perhaps by using a more formal linking phrase.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a closing. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the task. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Therefore', 'Actually', and 'Hence' to link ideas. However, the use of 'Actually' at the start of the second paragraph is slightly informal for this context. Additionally, some sentences could be better connected to improve the flow; for instance, the transition between the career update and the maintenance issue is a bit abrupt. Overall, the progression of ideas is easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'career opportunities', 'renowned organisation', and 'professional plumber'. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'completing 6 months lease' (should be 'completing my 6-month lease') and 'house smells extremely awful' (which is slightly unnatural; 'the apartment has an unpleasant odor' would be better). While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, incorporating more precise collocations would elevate the response to a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'there will be a campus selection will be held' (double verb structure), 'extend my contact' (should be 'contract'), and 'it will highly appreciated' (missing 'be'). These errors are noticeable but do not impede communication. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and ensuring that complex sentences are constructed without redundant verbs. Despite these errors, the meaning remains clear throughout the letter.

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

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