Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-02

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 Mr. Singh,

I rented an apartment a few months back based on six months agreement in your complex. Now, we are planning to stay for another six months. Therefore, I am writing to request an extension of an agreement.

Earlier, we were unsure about the duration of our stay in Calgary because of my contract-based job. However, now this company offered me a permanent position, and I would like to continue to gain valuable international workplace experience. It is a great opportunity for me to demonstrate my ability and skills to grow in my desired field of job as an IT technician. So, I would like to stay for the next six months in the same apartment.

Over the past few months, I have encountered a few issues in the apartment such as persistent leakage in kitchen through sink tap and sometimes heating system does not work properly. heating system is the most important as winter is coming. Hence, I want you to contact your regular plumber and technician to check it out.

I hope you understand my concern and you would take some appropriate actions to resolve these problem as soon as possible.

Yours faithfully,

Rahul

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 period, provide a logical explanation for the change in plans regarding your employment status, and identify specific maintenance issues. 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 outset. To reach a higher band, ensure that the transition between the request for an extension and the maintenance issues feels slightly more integrated, perhaps by acknowledging that you hope to resolve these matters to ensure a comfortable stay.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the task, which helps the reader follow your narrative easily. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Therefore', 'However', and 'Hence' to link your sentences. While the structure is effective, the flow could be improved by using a wider variety of linking phrases to connect the maintenance issues more smoothly. For example, instead of starting a new sentence with 'Hence', you could integrate the request for repairs more naturally into the conclusion of the paragraph.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, such as 'contract-based job', 'permanent position', and 'persistent leakage'. The language is generally precise and appropriate for a formal letter. There are a few minor word choice issues, such as 'based on six months agreement' (should be 'based on a six-month agreement') and 'field of job' (should be 'career field'). To improve, try to incorporate more sophisticated collocations and ensure articles are used correctly with nouns.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. There are some grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('in kitchen', 'in your complex') and subject-verb agreement ('heating system does not work'). Additionally, some sentences are slightly fragmented, such as 'heating system is the most important as winter is coming.' Despite these errors, the meaning remains clear throughout the letter. To achieve a higher score, focus on proofreading for small omissions like missing articles and ensuring that complex sentences are punctuated correctly.

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

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