Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

Dear Owner,

I hope you are doing fantastic . I am sukhpreet kaur , and i am living in your apartment from five months . Here , i would like to make a request for staying longer time in apartment . I already know we made agreement for only 6 moths. But , now i want to stay at same apartment for longer time around 2 years.

My plan changed because of reasons included facilities nearby , helpful neighborhood and used to area of apartment. Closest Facilities such as supermarket , shopping malls and gyms at walking distance ,and makes easier for me stay at same building. In this building , neighborhood also really friendly and helpful ,which encourage me to not leave this apartment.

Moreover, it is also difficult to find out apartments , which have all these things together , and hard to get a place to stay at the last month . So These factors changed my mind .Could you please let me know as soon as possible ? I am looking forward for your response .Thank you so much for your understanding .

Your sincerely ,

Sukh .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have addressed all three bullet points of the task: stating the desired duration, explaining the change in plans, and mentioning a problem. However, you failed to actually describe a specific problem in the apartment. You mentioned that it is 'hard to get a place to stay,' but you did not identify a maintenance issue or defect within the apartment itself as requested by the prompt. This omission means the task is only partially fulfilled. To improve, ensure you explicitly address every instruction provided in the prompt to ensure full coverage.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your intent. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and occasionally inaccurate, such as the awkward transition 'My plan changed because of reasons included facilities nearby'. Additionally, some sentences are fragmented or lack smooth flow, such as 'Closest Facilities such as supermarket... and makes easier for me'. While the overall message is clear, the progression of ideas would benefit from more sophisticated linking words and better sentence-to-sentence connectivity to achieve a higher band score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to convey your meaning clearly. You use some relevant topic-specific vocabulary like 'agreement,' 'apartment,' and 'facilities.' However, there are noticeable errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'used to area of apartment' instead of 'accustomed to the area' and 'stay at same building' instead of 'stay in the same building.' The range is somewhat limited, and the repetition of simple structures restricts your ability to demonstrate more precise or sophisticated language.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation. Common issues include missing articles ('in apartment' instead of 'in the apartment'), incorrect verb forms ('I am living... from five months' instead of 'I have been living... for five months'), and inconsistent capitalization of 'i'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to distract the reader. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement, proper article usage, and consistent tense control.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.