Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

Dear Mr. Smith,

I hope you are doing well.

I am writing to request that extend my apartment agreement. I would like to explain that I started renting an apartment on a six-month agreement and it will finish on next month, and I felt it was important to contact you and provide the necessary details.

To begin with, I would like to extend more six months lease. I feel happy about this because I have find full time poistion employment in this area. Therefore, I would like to bring this your attention.

In addition, there are several problems in the problem related to tap water, air-conditioning not working well. It is also worth mentioning that before extending my lease please you can resolve this problem. If there are any additional steps I should follow, please let me know.

Finally, I would be grateful if you could provide necessary information about it. It is mean a lot to me if you could help me in this situation.

Thank you for taking the time to consider this matter. I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Yours faithfully,

Olivia

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The letter covers all three bullet points required by the prompt: the duration of the extension, the reason for the change, and the maintenance issues. The tone is appropriate for a formal request to a landlord. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the explanation regarding the job is brief, and the description of the apartment problems is vague. While the task is fully addressed, the lack of detail prevents it from reaching a higher band. The purpose of the letter is clear throughout, and the reader understands the writer's intentions without difficulty.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each serving a specific purpose. The use of cohesive devices such as 'To begin with,' 'In addition,' and 'Finally' helps guide the reader through the text. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical or repetitive, such as the phrase 'In the problem related to' which is grammatically awkward and disrupts the flow. Referencing is generally clear, though some sentences, particularly in the final paragraph, are slightly disjointed. Overall, the structure is coherent and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. There are several instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'extend more six months lease' and 'It is mean a lot to me.' The student uses basic vocabulary to convey ideas, and there are minor errors in word choice, such as 'poistion employment' (a redundancy) and 'problems in the problem.' While the meaning is always clear, the range of vocabulary is limited, and the student struggles with natural collocations, which prevents a higher score in this criterion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The letter contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'request that extend' (missing subject), 'it will finish on next month' (incorrect preposition), and 'I have find' (incorrect verb tense). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but the sentence structure is occasionally clunky, such as 'before extending my lease please you can resolve this problem.' While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the writing from being considered highly accurate. A greater focus on verb tenses and sentence construction is needed.

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

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