Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-15

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 Lisa,

I am writing to request an extend to my current rental agreement, which is due on December this year.

According to our present agreement, I have to vacate the apartment by end of December. However. I would like to stay in this apartment until June 2027, due to a change in my plan. Therefore, I appreciate if you could make an amendment to our current rental agrement by changing move-out date to next year June 30. Else we can discuss about signing another fresh agreement for another six months' period.

The project I have been working on recently having some technical issues. So the company wants me to stay in Vancouver until end of June next year to solve this problem. Additionally, I really like the neighorhood and convience of this location.

Further, I would like have your attention on some minor issue in the apartment. The unit having a probelm with heating system. Since, Winter is coming, I appreciate if you look into this matter as well.

I hope you would consider my request and I would like to hearing from you soon.

Thank you.

Your Sincerely,

Yumi

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

You successfully covered all three bullet points required by the task prompt. First, you clearly stated how long you want to extend the rental for, mentioning June 2027. Second, you explained why your plans changed by describing a work project in Vancouver that requires you to stay longer. Third, you successfully notified the owner about a problem regarding the heating system in the apartment, noting that winter is coming. The tone of your letter is appropriate for a landlord-tenant relationship, maintaining politeness while clearly communicating your requests. All bullet points are fully addressed and supported with relevant details, demonstrating a strong understanding of the general training letter format. Your ideas are well-developed and clear throughout the response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

Your letter is structured with a clear logical organisation and progression. You divided your ideas into distinct paragraphs, starting with the main request, moving to the reason for the change and property feedback, and ending with a polite closing. You used cohesive devices such as 'However', 'Therefore', and 'Additionally' to connect your ideas, although some transitions feel slightly mechanical. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, as each paragraph focuses on a different aspect of your message. Referencing is generally clear, though occasional mechanical errors in linking minor clauses slightly disrupt the flow. Overall, the message flows well and is easy for the reader to follow from start to finish.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrated an adequate to good range of vocabulary for this task, using terms like 'rental agreement', 'amendment', 'technical issues', and 'neighborhood'. However, there are some noticeable vocabulary and spelling errors, such as 'extend' instead of 'extension', 'agrement' instead of 'agreement', 'neighorhood', and 'convience' instead of 'convenience'. While these errors do not impede communication, they prevent you from achieving a higher band score. You attempted less common lexical items with some awareness of style and collocation, but greater precision and accuracy in word choice and spelling are needed to reach the band 7.0 level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You attempted a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional and subordinate clauses (e.g., 'I am writing to request an extension...', 'Since winter is coming, I appreciate if you look...'). However, there are several grammatical and punctuation errors throughout your response. For example, 'The project I have been working on recently having some technical issues' is missing a main verb (is having or has), and 'The unit having a probelm' contains a similar error. Additionally, punctuation is occasionally faulty, such as the fragment 'However. I would like...' and the phrase 'I would like have your attention' which is missing 'to'. These frequent minor errors mean that simple sentences are often more accurate than complex ones.

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

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