Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

Dear sam,

I am writing a letter regarding the agreement that , i did agreement that i lived there for only 5 months. Everything is good and wounderfull.

I want to extend the agreement around 5 months more, because i get my job extension for 5 months more. So i want to live more in beautyful environment .

I have only one problem that our washroom washing shink is leaking from 3 days. if you can then send the tech for checking the issue. I am very glad to live more in this apartment.

Thanks your faithfully.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses all three bullet points: the duration of the extension, the reason for the change, and the maintenance issue. However, the letter is significantly under the 150-word minimum requirement, which severely limits the development of ideas. The tone is somewhat informal and lacks the necessary expansion to fully satisfy the task requirements. Because the response is only 97 words, it fails to meet the length constraint, which is a significant negative factor in Task Achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is divided into short paragraphs, which helps with basic organization. However, the use of cohesive devices is very limited and mechanical. Transitions between ideas are abrupt, and the overall flow is hindered by the brevity of the sentences. The logical progression is present but lacks the sophistication required for a higher band. The referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the opening sentence where the phrasing is repetitive and awkward.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is basic and repetitive. There are several spelling errors, such as 'wounderfull' instead of 'wonderful', 'beautyful' instead of 'beautiful', and 'shink' instead of 'sink'. The range of vocabulary is limited to simple, everyday words, and there is no attempt to use less common or more precise lexical items. The word choice is often imprecise, which occasionally makes the intended meaning slightly less clear.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response relies heavily on simple sentence structures. There are frequent grammatical errors, including issues with article usage, verb tense consistency, and sentence construction (e.g., 'i did agreement that i lived there', 'leaking from 3 days'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the use of commas and capitalization. While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of errors in basic structures prevents a higher score.

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

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