Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-12

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 sir ,

I hope you are doing well, I am writing to ask if I could extend my rental agreement, which I have been renting for the past five months.

Originally, I renting this apartmnet on a six months agreement.However , now I wants to extend this agreement for addtional six months ,If it possible. My plan has recenlty changed due to my further sutdies ,I have to continue same university . So I decided to live here because I am familiar with this area so I do not want to go some where else.

Even shift to another apartment whcih Is also hard for me , I do not have enough time to search new palce and pack nad unpack my stuff.

I have a another request washing machine is not working properly , I would be greatfull If you fix this as soon as possible.

I hope you understand my concern. Thank you so much for your time.

Kind Regards,

Gagandeep

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points required in the prompt. You clearly stated how long you wish to extend the rental agreement ('addtional six months'), explained why your plans have changed due to your continuing studies at the same university and familiarity with the area, and notified the owner about a specific problem with the washing machine not working properly. The tone is appropriate for a semi-formal letter to a landlord. Although there are noticeable language errors, the message is conveyed successfully and all task requirements are covered well. This performance aligns comfortably with the Band 6 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

Your letter has a coherent overall arrangement with a standard salutation and sign-off. However, paragraphing and referencing are sometimes faulty. For instance, the second paragraph is quite long and bundles multiple distinct ideas together, and the transition 'Even shift to another apartment whcih Is also hard for me' lacks a clear cohesive link to the preceding sentence. Cohesive devices are occasionally inaccurate or mechanical, such as comma splices used instead of proper conjunctions or full stops. Progression is discernible, but the structural flow needs more careful control to reach a higher band. This represents a solid Band 6 performance.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate vocabulary range for the task, successfully communicating everyday needs such as extending a lease, studying at a university, and reporting a broken appliance. However, there are numerous spelling and word choice errors throughout the text, such as 'addtional' instead of additional, 'recenlty', 'sutdies', 'palce', and 'nad unpack'. Furthermore, phrases like 'go some where else' and 'greatfull' show basic lexical inaccuracies. While these errors do not impede overall communication, they prevent the lexical score from reaching Band 7. Therefore, a Band 5.5 is appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional structures ('If it possible') and relative clauses ('which I have been renting for the past five months'). However, control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are several comma splices (e.g., 'I hope you are doing well, I am writing...', 'plans has recenlty changed due to my further sutdies ,I have to...'), subject-verb agreement errors ('now I wants'), and tense inconsistencies ('which I have been renting' when referring to a five-month past duration). Errors are frequent enough to cause some distraction for the reader, fitting the Band 5 descriptors.

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

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