Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-24

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 5.5)

Dear Mr Samyam

i am writing to inform you about extending my stay in the apartment.

I would like to rent this apartment for 2 years since it is really easy for me to commute to my work.

I have change the plans because of my work.Since now winter is approaching near and If i move to somewhere else it will be very difficult for me to commute as well as I might miss the bus and have to take uber which will be exrta cost.

Also I want to mentioned some problems in the apartment I am facing now is mainly the leakege of the water from the washroom.I tried many methods to stop this but it is still not working.

i would appericate it if you could come personally and look this matter

please let me know if you require any futher information

yours sincerely

namika

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The letter covers all three bullet points: the duration of the extension, the reason for the change, and the maintenance issue. However, the response is slightly under the 150-word minimum, which impacts the overall development of ideas. While the purpose is clear, the explanation regarding the change of plans is somewhat repetitive and could have been more concise to allow for a more professional tone. The tone is generally appropriate for a formal letter to a landlord, though the lack of a proper closing and the brevity of the content prevent a higher score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is quite limited and sometimes mechanical. For example, the transition between the reason for staying and the maintenance issue is abrupt. There is a lack of variety in linking words, and some sentences feel disjointed. Improving the flow by using more sophisticated transition phrases would significantly enhance the coherence of the letter.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks range and precision. There are several spelling errors, such as 'leakege', 'appericate', 'futher', and 'exrta', which indicate a need for more careful proofreading. The word choice is functional but basic. To improve, you should aim to use more precise collocations and ensure that spelling is accurate, as these errors occasionally distract the reader from the message.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Issues include incorrect verb tenses ('I have change'), missing articles ('the leakege'), and punctuation errors (missing commas and inconsistent capitalisation). The sentence 'I would appericate it if you could come personally and look this matter' is missing a preposition ('look into this matter'). While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors limits the score.

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

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