Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-25

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 john

I hope you are doing well. Through this email, I would like to request you for expand the timeline of an agreement for staying long term.

Firstly, i had started renting this apartment for six months lease. Now I am requesting you to expand that agreement up to 1 year probably to March ends because of my work extension.

The reasons behind this, I would like to renting this apartment for longer time just because it is budget friendly. Secondly, it’s too easy to commute to any place from here whether for work because of great transit facilities.

Lastly, as I decided to stay for longer time. So, there are some problem I face in this apartment which I request you to fix it. Such thing is water pipeline leakage.

I hope you understand and accept my proposal. I am waiting to hear your response.

Kind Regards,

Karanjot Singh

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 reasons for the change, and the mention of a maintenance issue. However, the development of these points is somewhat limited. For example, the explanation for the change in plans is brief and could be more naturally integrated. The tone is generally appropriate for a formal request, though the opening 'Dear john' lacks the formality expected in a professional correspondence. Overall, the task is addressed, but the ideas could be expanded with more detail to fully satisfy the requirements of a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organised into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure of the request. There is an attempt to use cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'Lastly'. However, the use of these markers is sometimes mechanical and occasionally inaccurate, such as the transition 'Lastly, as I decided to stay for longer time. So, there are some problem...'. The sentence structure here is fragmented, which disrupts the flow. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring that sentences are logically connected would significantly enhance the coherence of the letter.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but remains quite basic. Phrases like 'expand the timeline' and 'budget friendly' are understandable but lack the precision and variety expected at higher levels. There are some awkward collocations, such as 'expand that agreement up to 1 year' and 'March ends'. While the meaning is clear and communication is not impeded, the range of vocabulary is limited, and there is little evidence of less common lexical items or idiomatic expressions that would demonstrate a more sophisticated command of the language.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The letter contains a mix of simple and some attempted complex sentences. However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include 'I would like to request you for expand' (should be 'to request an extension'), 'i had started renting' (incorrect tense usage), and 'there are some problem I face' (subject-verb agreement error). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the use of full stops where commas or conjunctions would be more appropriate. While the errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the message, they are frequent enough to limit the score.

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

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