Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-20

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 Landlord,

I am writing to express my interest regarding renting the apartment for another 6 more months due to my parents visit.

Initially I thought of shifting into a new home once my parents arrived. I was checking the prices for my accommodation. Surprisingly it is expensive for my budget. Being a student, it is really hard for me to afford these prices and that made me to have an opinion about renting this place.

I want to bring to you an important issue which has been noticing in our apartment. One of the heaters in the hall is frequently shutting down at night .This has made out place to get extremely cold at night . Moreover, our kitchen sink some times get clogged ,making difficulties in cooking dishes at night.

I would appreciate that if you could visit our apartment sooner .Hence , we can find out a few measures to curb these issues .

I look forward to hearing a positive response from you soon. I appreciate the time and effort you are taking to resolving the issue.

sincerely ,

kee

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly stated the desired extension period, provided a logical reason for the change in plans (financial constraints due to a student budget), and identified specific maintenance issues. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a landlord. To reach a higher band, ensure that your explanations are slightly more detailed; for instance, you could have elaborated on how the heater issue specifically impacts your daily routine or study habits to further develop your ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each serving a distinct purpose. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'Hence', and 'Initially' to link your ideas. However, the flow is occasionally interrupted by slightly awkward phrasing, such as 'that made me to have an opinion about renting this place'. The transition between the request for an extension and the maintenance issues is functional, but could be smoother. Overall, the progression of ideas is clear and easy to follow throughout the letter.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'accommodation', 'clogged', and 'curb'. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'shifting into a new home' (moving is more standard) and 'making difficulties in cooking' (causing difficulties). While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more precise word usage. Expanding your vocabulary to include more natural collocations would help elevate your score in this criterion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical slips, such as 'due to my parents visit' (missing possessive 'parents''), 'has been noticing' (should be passive 'has been noticed'), and 'made me to have' (should be 'made me have'). Punctuation is generally functional, though there are some spacing issues around punctuation marks (e.g., 'night .This'). While these errors are noticeable, they do not prevent the reader from understanding your message. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and passive voice construction will improve your accuracy.

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

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