Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-21

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,

My name is Sukhpreet, I am a tenant in your Watercolour building's apartment. I have signed an agreement with you to rent your place for six months because my work is casual, therefore I was not sure how long I have to stay. However, I have received an extension offer from company for about one year and I accepted the offer.

I wanted to request you to renew the rent agreement for one more year, so that I can continue my job without the additional stress of accommodation. Moreover, this location is quite suitable for me, as it's only two blocks far from my workplace. Apart from this, I have to bother you for quick inspection of all the taps in the apartment because some of them are gradually leaking that can increase the great proportion of water bill.

Looking forward to hear back from you.

Yours sincerely,

Sukh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response successfully covers all three bullet points required by the task prompt. First, you clearly state how long you want to rent the apartment for by requesting to 'renew the rent agreement for one more year'. Second, you explain that your plans changed because you received an 'extension offer from company for about one year'. Third, you inform the owner about a maintenance issue regarding 'quick inspection of all the taps in the apartment because some of them are gradually leaking'. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a landlord, and all parts of the prompt are well-addressed, fulfilling the criteria for Band 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter maintains a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. You introduce your purpose early, follow with the reasons for your changed plans, transition into the maintenance request, and close with a polite sign-off. Cohesive devices are used adequately, such as 'However', 'Moreover', and 'Apart from this', though paragraphing could be slightly better managed since the body of the letter is bundled into two dense paragraphs. Overall, the flow is coherent and easy to follow, earning a Band 6.5.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms like 'extension offer', 'accommodation', and 'gradually leaking'. However, there are some minor lexical and collocational inaccuracies, such as saying 'two blocks far from' instead of 'two blocks away from', and 'increase the great proportion of water bill' rather than 'increase the water bill significantly'. Despite these slips, meaning is never impeded, and a sufficient range is shown to warrant a Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'because my work is casual, therefore I was not sure...' and 'so that I can continue my job...'. There are some grammatical errors, including redundant conjunction usage ('because... therefore'), missing articles ('from company'), and tense inconsistency ('I have signed... I was not sure'). Punctuation is generally fine, but sentence structures occasionally feel slightly clunky. Because these errors do not impede communication, the performance aligns well with Band 6.0.

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

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