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 Mr. Morgan,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing to discuss about the renting apartment six-month agreement, five month ago I thought that after graduation I will move to Toronto.

However, I have found a full time vacancy here in Windsor, so I am planning to stay in this apartment for longer than the six months agreement. If you do not have any one else booked already, I would be happy to stay here and we can extend our renting agreement to 1 year. Let me know about the availability or when you have the agreement ready.

In addition, I wanted to inform you about the electric stove is not working properly. It is really hard to survive without the stove. I would really appreciate if you could find a mechanic to fix or replace it. Finally, I wish that we could also get the apartment painted.

Looking forward to your message and to stay here.

Thank you,

Ellie Jackson

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly stated your intention to extend the lease, provided a logical reason for the change in plans (a new job in Windsor), and identified a specific maintenance issue with the electric stove. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a landlord. To reach a higher band, ensure that your ideas are slightly more developed; for instance, you could have specified the duration of the extension more precisely or provided more detail on the stove issue to show a better command of descriptive language.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a closing. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the task, which helps the reader follow your points easily. You use some cohesive devices such as 'However,' 'In addition,' and 'Finally' to link your ideas. However, the flow between sentences could be smoother. For example, the transition between the job update and the request for the extension is slightly abrupt. Using more varied linking phrases would improve the overall cohesion of the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You have an adequate range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. Phrases like 'full time vacancy' and 'extend our renting agreement' are relevant and accurate. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'discuss about' (which should simply be 'discuss') and 'survive without the stove' (which is slightly hyperbolic for a formal letter). To improve, try to incorporate more precise collocations and avoid redundant prepositions. Your vocabulary is sufficient for the task but lacks the flexibility and sophistication required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical errors that persist. For example, 'five month ago' should be 'five months ago,' and 'the electric stove is not working' should be 'the electric stove is not working' (or 'that the electric stove is not working'). Additionally, 'to stay here' at the end of the letter is a sentence fragment. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and consistent tense usage will help you achieve a higher score in this category.

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

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