Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-27

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.Smith,

How are you, I hope you are fine.

I am writing this letter to requesting you about the staying in your apartment a bit longer than our agreement. I want to stay 6 months more in your apartment. I have changed my plans because I had been looking for my job for quite long and finally I got one near to the apartment. So me and my husband were thinking to stay here for a longer period of time. And I wanted to tell you about the problem which occur in our washroom that the hot water was not working in the washroom, so please kindly requesting you to solve this within 2 days please because you know we need hot water for everything and for shower, it is a must thing. we have been doing it like, we were warming the water on stove and then were using that. So please do take any action.

Kindly looking forward for your response

Yours faithfully

Wasefa Bharodawala

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The letter covers all three bullet points required by the task: the duration of the extension, the reason for the change in plans, and the maintenance issue. The tone is generally appropriate for a formal request to a landlord. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the explanation regarding the job search is brief, and the request for the repair could be more professionally phrased. While the task is fully addressed, the overall development of the points is basic rather than extended, which aligns with the criteria for a band 6.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is coherent and follows a logical progression. However, the paragraphing is insufficient; the entire body of the letter is presented as a single block of text, which hinders the visual structure of a formal letter. While cohesive devices are used (e.g., 'so', 'because'), they are somewhat repetitive and basic. The transition between the request to stay and the maintenance issue is abrupt. To improve, you should use clear paragraph breaks for each distinct point and employ a wider variety of linking words to connect your ideas more fluidly.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. You rely on simple phrasing such as 'a bit longer' and 'a must thing'. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'requesting you about the staying' (should be 'requesting to extend my stay') and 'do take any action' (which sounds slightly demanding). While the meaning is always clear, the range of vocabulary is limited to common, everyday words. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more formal, precise language suitable for a business-like correspondence.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include 'I am writing this letter to requesting you' (should be 'to request'), 'the problem which occur' (should be 'occurred'), and 'the hot water was not working' (should be 'is not working'). Additionally, the sentence structure is often repetitive, relying heavily on simple sentences joined by 'and'. While the errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your message, they are frequent enough to impact the flow and demonstrate a lack of control over complex structures.

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

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