Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-17

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 Sir or Madam,

I am writing this letter to request you extend my lease from 6 months to 1 year. Previously, I agreed to a 6-month lease due to my professional resons that i might have to change my apartment.

The main reason for extending my agreement is that I got a new job close to my apartment, which is only 10 minutes walk, and now a restaurnt is opened on the same street as my apartment, which is really excellent for me as I barely know how to cook. Moreover, I have made quite a few friends here, and they live just across the street. I am new to this city, so those are the only friends I have here.

However, there are a few problems in the apartment that I would like to draw your attention to. The first problem is Bed Bugs, which are really annoying and dangerous for my health. Additionally, there are 3 running taps; because of that, the utility bill is a lot higher now. I would really appreciate it if you could solve these issues. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Your faithfully

Yuvraj Singh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You successfully covered all parts of the letter prompt. First, you clearly stated how long you want to extend your lease, moving from 6 months to 1 year. Second, you explained why your plans changed by mentioning your new job close by and the new restaurant on the street. Third, you informed the owner about the problems in the apartment, specifically mentioning the bed bugs and the running taps. The tone is appropriate for a letter to an apartment owner. All bullet points are fully addressed with relevant, coherent details, demonstrating a strong understanding of the task requirements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

Your letter is logically organised with a clear beginning, middle, and end, moving smoothly from your request to your reasons, and finally to the apartment issues. Paragraphing is used appropriately, with each paragraph focusing on a distinct aspect of the prompt. You used cohesive devices such as 'Previously', 'The main reason', 'Moreover', and 'However' to guide the reader through your ideas. However, referencing and transitions are sometimes a bit mechanical, which keeps this criterion at a Band 7. Overall, the progression of ideas is clear and easy to follow throughout the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrated a sufficient range of vocabulary to communicate your message effectively, using terms such as 'professional resons' (with a spelling error), 'utility bill', and 'draw your attention to'. You attempted less common phrases like 'barely know how to cook' and 'really excellent for me'. There are a few spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'resons' instead of reasons, 'restaurnt' instead of restaurant, and 'Your faithfully' instead of Yours faithfully, but these do not impede communication. To reach a higher band, you could incorporate more sophisticated collocations and eliminate minor spelling mistakes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You used a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'I am writing this letter to request you extend my lease' and 'I would really appreciate it if you could solve these issues.' There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings present in the text, such as 'request you extend' (instead of requesting that you extend), 'professional resons that i might have to change' (capitalisation and preposition issues), and 'now a restaurnt is opened' (tense and voice issues). Despite these errors, the majority of sentences are understandable, and punctuation is generally well controlled. This performance aligns well with the Band 6 descriptor.

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

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