Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-19

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 sir

I want to put your attention toward the signed agreement of my apartment. I want to extend my six months agreement.

I have changed my plans due to

Inappropriate location

Lack of metro stations nearly requires walk of 30 min

Grocery stores unavailable

Medical facilities unavailable

These all are necessary in every area.However not having these requirements will cause a huge problem, which leads to numerous issues such as traveling long way to buy basic food items and in case of emergency situations unable to reach the doctor at time.

I recommend you to please repair some of the problems in present apartment which disturbs me a lot .The list of difficulties are as follows

Heating system not working

Bell system is not working

Smoke detector is not available

Walls are dirty

So I request you to repair these things and I will give me a rent as requested.

I hope you put attention to this matter.

Hoping for a positive response.

Thanks

Muskanpreet Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The letter covers all three required bullet points: the duration of the extension, the reason for the change in plans, and the list of maintenance issues. However, the tone is inconsistent and somewhat demanding rather than polite, which is expected in a formal letter to a landlord. The explanation for the change in plans is slightly confusing; you mention the location is inappropriate and lacks facilities, yet you are asking to extend your stay, which contradicts the logic of wanting to leave. The ideas are presented as a list rather than in well-developed paragraphs, which limits the overall impact of the communication.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter is divided into short, disjointed sections, and the use of bullet points for the main body paragraphs is not appropriate for a formal letter. While there is a logical progression from the request to the explanation and finally the maintenance issues, the lack of cohesive devices (such as linking words like 'furthermore', 'consequently', or 'in addition') makes the writing feel mechanical and fragmented. Paragraphing is present but relies heavily on lists rather than cohesive prose, which hinders the flow of the letter.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is basic and repetitive. Phrases like 'I want to' and 'not working' are used multiple times, which limits the range of expression. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'give me a rent' instead of 'pay the rent' or 'settle the rent'. While the meaning is generally clear, there is little attempt to use more sophisticated or precise vocabulary suitable for a formal request. To improve, you should focus on using more varied verbs and formal expressions appropriate for business correspondence.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include 'I want to put your attention toward' (should be 'draw your attention to'), 'six months agreement' (should be 'six-month agreement'), and 'in case of emergency situations unable to reach the doctor at time' (missing subject and preposition). Sentence structures are mostly simple, and there is a lack of complex sentence forms. Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the use of capital letters and spacing after punctuation marks. These errors occasionally make the text difficult to follow.

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