Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-29

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 7.0)

Dear Alex,

I hope you are doing well. It's been an amazing experience to stay in your building. I am writing this letter to request you to extend my lease agreement from 6 months to additional 1 year for my stay in your apartment.

Firstly, I applied for the 6 month lease term because my first semester was online. Therefore I preferred to live in Toronto rather than in Windsor as I have more friends here. My college is in Windsor but due to online facilities of my course I choose to live in Toronto. Recently I have received an email from my college that my second and third semester will be online as well. Due to this reason I would like to stay more in the Toronto area, as I'm very familiar with this area. Therefore, I would like to request an extend for my lease agreement. Hoping that wouldn't be the issue.

Furthermore, I am please to stay in your building as I have got all the facilities at your place such as ample car parking, best security, heating and cooling facilities, ln-suit laundry facilities and the reasonable price. Moreover, your building is also very close to my part-time job. I don't need to take any transportation to reach my workplace because it's only 15 minutes walk from my apartment to work. However, I do want to mentioned about the hot water problem. Recently, I have notice that almost twice in a week I'm not getting the enough hot water. I have managed since the summer is ongoing, but I'm concerned about the winter time. I hope you take appropriate steps to resolve this issue.

Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions on extending my lease and if you required any additional documents from my side.

Thank you.

Yours faithfully,

Varsha Rathod

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

The letter successfully addresses all three bullet points required by the prompt. You clearly state the desired extension length (one year), provide a logical explanation for the change in plans (online college courses), and describe the hot water issue in the apartment. The tone is appropriate for a formal request to a landlord. The ideas are well-developed and the purpose of the letter is clear from the beginning. To reach a higher band, ensure that all requests are phrased with complete grammatical accuracy, such as avoiding 'request an extend' in favor of 'request an extension'.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a closing. You use a variety of cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Furthermore', 'Moreover', and 'However' to guide the reader through your arguments. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate the request, the justification, and the maintenance issue. The progression of ideas is smooth and easy to follow. To improve, ensure that referencing is always precise; for example, 'due to this reason' is clear, but ensure that transitions between sentences remain natural rather than mechanical.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a good range of vocabulary appropriate for a formal letter, such as 'lease agreement', 'facilities', 'appropriate steps', and 'familiar'. There are some minor errors in word choice and form, such as 'request an extend' (should be 'extension'), 'I am please' (should be 'pleased'), and 'ln-suit' (should be 'en-suite'). Despite these occasional slips, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly and effectively throughout the letter. The use of specific terms like 'ample car parking' and 'reasonable price' adds necessary detail to your request.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical inaccuracies, such as 'I choose to live' (should be 'chose'), 'I do want to mentioned' (should be 'mention'), and 'I'm not getting the enough hot water' (should be 'enough hot water'). These errors are frequent enough to prevent a higher score but do not impede communication. To improve, focus on verb tense consistency and correct noun/adjective placement. The overall structure of the letter is sound, and the formal tone is maintained throughout.

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

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