Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Dear mark,

I hope you are doing well. I received your reminder that my lease agreement is due to next month. I would like to request you if i can extend my agreement for another six months.

If you remember while renting this apartment i told you that i am here for my office training period for six months but somehow my training is extended for another six months so now i have to live in this city for another six months and this house is just 10 minutes away from my work so it is very convenient for me to commute to office.

Since last few days washing machine is not working properly so i have called the technician but he told me that it will cost around 300$. Also heating is not working and winters are around the corner so if you can send over any your technical it will be appreciate.

I hope you understand my situation and happy to help me to extend agreement.

Sincerely,

Het Patel

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The letter successfully addresses all three bullet points: the duration of the extension, the reason for the change in plans, and the maintenance issues. The tone is appropriate for a formal request to a landlord. The ideas are clearly presented and logically developed. To reach a higher band, the student could provide more specific details regarding the maintenance issues or use more sophisticated language to express the request, ensuring the purpose of the letter is stated with greater clarity and professional polish from the opening sentence.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized into distinct paragraphs, each serving a clear purpose. The progression of ideas is easy to follow. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat basic and repetitive (e.g., 'also', 'so'). The transition between the request for extension and the maintenance issues is a bit abrupt. Improving the variety of linking words and phrases would enhance the flow and make the connections between sentences more sophisticated, moving beyond simple additive conjunctions to more complex logical markers.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to communicate their needs effectively. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'technical' used as a noun instead of 'technician' or 'maintenance person'. The phrase 'winters are around the corner' is a good idiomatic attempt. To improve, the student should focus on more precise collocations and avoid repetitive phrasing. Expanding the range of vocabulary to include more formal business-related terms would elevate the overall quality of the writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'due to next month' (should be 'due next month'), 'if i can extend' (should be 'whether I can extend'), and 'any your technical' (should be 'any of your technicians'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the use of commas and capitalization of 'I'. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and proper sentence construction will lead to significant improvement.

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

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