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 Mr. 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 a 6-month lease on August 26th. I would like to extend my agreement for another 6 months to enhance my career opportunities.

Actually, I was supposed to complete my Project Management course on August 20th but recently I received an update from my course advisor that there will be a campus recruitment drive held by several renowned organisations in the month of November. Therefore, I would like to extend my contract to pursue the opportunities and foster my career growth in the city.

As I already informed you about the water leakage from the kitchen sink, this started causing numerous damages to the cupboards and floor mats and house smells extremely awful to stay. Hence, it will be highly appreciated if you can arrange a 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 report the maintenance issue regarding the kitchen sink. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a landlord. The ideas are well-developed and relevant, ensuring the reader understands your situation and your request. You have maintained a consistent purpose throughout the letter, which meets the requirements for a Band 7 or higher. To reach the highest bands, ensure that the connection between the extension request and the maintenance issue is handled with slightly more formal transitions.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized, with each paragraph focusing on a specific aspect of the task. You use cohesive devices such as 'Therefore', 'Actually', and 'Hence' to link your ideas effectively. The progression of information is clear, moving from the purpose of the letter to the justification and finally the maintenance request. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate these distinct topics. While the flow is generally smooth, some of the transitions could be slightly more sophisticated to improve the overall cohesion. Overall, the structure is clear and easy to follow, which is a hallmark of a Band 7 response.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

You demonstrate a good range of vocabulary, using terms like 'renowned organisations', 'foster my career growth', and 'professional plumber'. These choices are appropriate for the context and show an ability to use less common lexical items. There are minor issues with collocation, such as 'house smells extremely awful', which would be more naturally expressed as 'the house has an unpleasant smell'. However, these minor inaccuracies do not impede communication. You have a sufficient range to convey your meaning with precision and flexibility, fitting the criteria for a Band 7.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as the conditional 'it will be highly appreciated if you can arrange'. There are some grammatical slips, such as the sentence fragment 'Since I will be completing a 6-month lease on August 26th.' and the missing article in 'house smells extremely awful'. Despite these errors, the majority of your sentences are clear and error-free. Your control of punctuation is generally good, though some sentence boundaries could be tightened. The range of structures is sufficient to communicate complex ideas effectively, warranting a Band 6.5 or 7.0.

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

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