Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-13

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 5.0)

Dear Sir,

I am writing a letter to extend my renting apartment agreement one more year for retention.

Sir as discussed in our last meet while we did the agreement of apartment where currently I’m living as you , I am doing private job in marketing field so company not retain the employee in same city more then six months secondly they shuffle the employee from one city to another city on regular basis. Now company is not hired yet someone for my place and for next one year they not transferring to me & I am staying in the same city.

So i am requesting you re agreement with me for one year. One more thing I escalate the drainage issue in your apartment on phone call discussion, kindly rectify the issue on priority so I can manage easily on this. Your response highly appreciated.

Your thankfully

Jatin Sharma

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response covers all parts of the task satisfactorily. You clearly state how long you want to extend the rental agreement ('one more year'), explain why your plans changed due to company job rotations ('company not retain the employee in same city more then six months'), and mention the ongoing maintenance problem regarding the drainage ('I escalate the drainage issue'). However, the development of some ideas lacks clarity and organisation, particularly in the overly long, run-on second paragraph. While all bullet points are addressed, the communication of these points is occasionally hindered by expression and grammatical issues. This places the response comfortably at Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter lacks appropriate paragraphing and logical progression, as the entire middle section of the text is condensed into one massive, block-like sentence containing multiple ideas. The use of cohesive devices is frequently mechanical or inaccurate (e.g., 'Sir as discussed', 'secondly', 'Now company is not hired yet'). Additionally, referencing and pronoun use are confusing in places, such as in the phrase 'transferring to me & I am staying'. While the beginning and sign-off follow standard letter format, the internal structural flow requires significant improvement to achieve a higher band score. This performance corresponds to a Band 5.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, frequently relying on simple words and expressions such as 'renting apartment', 'private job', and 'phone call discussion'. There are noticeable word choice and collocation errors throughout the text, including 'doing private job', 'not retained the employee', and 're agreement'. Spelling is generally acceptable, but lexical inaccuracies sometimes cause minor confusion for the reader (e.g., 'retention', 'escalate the drainage issue'). The range of vocabulary is limited and minimally adequate for completing the task, matching the descriptors for Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0

The response displays a very limited range of grammatical structures. Most sentences attempt complexity but result in serious structural errors and run-on sentences, such as 'Sir as discussed in our last meet while we did the agreement of apartment where currently I’m living as you , I am doing private job...'. There are frequent errors in verb tenses, prepositions, and clause connections (e.g., 'company not retain', 'not hired yet someone', 'next one year they not transferring to me'). These frequent grammatical errors cause significant difficulty for the reader and prevent the text from achieving a higher score. This meets the criteria for Band 4.0.

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

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