Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-18

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 john,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing this letter to express my interest to extend the six-month rental agreement of apartment.

I want the agreement to be extended for next six months because this place has walking distance to my college and it saves a lot of my bus fare. Additionally, my friend circle lives near to me.

Furthermore, as it was decided I am supposed to leave the apartment next month because my study was predicted to be finish but, now I took an additional six-month course as it is imperative for my career achievements.

Proceeding with the problem in apartment is old dining table which is about to brake currently. Therefore, it needs to be changed and there is issue with the shower as it has leakage at the bottom.

I will be waiting to receive your decision soon so that I can plan accordingly.

Kind regards,

Navneet.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The letter covers all three bullet points required by the prompt: the desired extension length, the reason for the change in plans, and the maintenance issues. 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 change in plans is a bit repetitive, and the mention of the apartment problems is abrupt. To reach a higher band, you should aim to expand slightly more on the impact of these issues or provide more context to your request, ensuring the flow between the points feels more natural and professional.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized, with each paragraph addressing a specific requirement of the task. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Additionally', 'Furthermore', and 'Therefore' to link ideas. However, the transition into the third paragraph ('Proceeding with the problem in apartment...') is slightly awkward and unnatural. While the paragraphing is sufficient, the overall flow could be improved by using more varied linking phrases to connect the sentences within the paragraphs, rather than relying on simple sentence starters. The referencing is generally clear, and the reader can easily follow your request.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You have an adequate range of vocabulary to communicate your needs effectively. Phrases like 'imperative for my career achievements' and 'plan accordingly' are well-chosen. However, there are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'walking distance to my college' (should be 'within walking distance') and 'my study was predicted to be finish' (should be 'my studies were expected to finish'). Additionally, 'brake' is a spelling error for 'break'. While these errors do not impede communication, they prevent the response from reaching a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical inaccuracies, such as 'express my interest to extend' (should be 'interest in extending'), 'friend circle lives near to me' (should be 'friends live nearby'), and 'there is issue with the shower' (missing an article: 'an issue'). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are some awkward phrasings that affect the overall fluency. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles, as these errors occur frequently throughout the text.

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

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