Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-22

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 6.0)

Dear House owner,

My name is Tim I am the resident who stays in the apartment no 3 in the George street,Sydney. I am writing this letter to let you know that I wish to stay here for an extended period. In my orginal aggrement that it is mentioned that I rent the apartment only for six-months. I am planing here to stay for another six-months.

My plan has changed because I am going to take another course when I am done with the course that I am currently studying.I am sorry for the short notice but I am expecting a positive response from your side.

I also like to mention one more issue I noticed the shower has been leaking for last 2 weeks. Intially, I thought it was the steam but later I noticed that the shower is keep on dripping for a longer time.I hope you understand the problem in the shower and I am looking forward to hear from you about extending my stay agreement.

Thank you.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The candidate has successfully addressed all three bullet points required by the task prompt. First, they stated how long they wish to rent the apartment for by mentioning an extension of 'another six-months'. Second, they explained the change in plans by stating they are 'going to take another course' after their current studies finish. Third, they informed the owner about a maintenance issue involving a 'shower has been leaking for last 2 weeks'. The tone is generally appropriate for a letter to an apartment owner, although the greeting 'Dear House owner' is slightly unnatural and would be better addressed to the landlord or property manager directly. All parts of the prompt are covered adequately and clearly, meeting the requirements for a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter exhibits a coherent overall arrangement with logical sequencing of ideas, moving smoothly from the purpose of the letter to the change in plans, and finally to the maintenance issue. Paragraphing is used to separate distinct points, although the structure could be polished. Cohesive devices are occasionally mechanical or slightly faulty, such as 'In my orginal aggrement that it is mentioned' and 'Intially, I thought it was the steam'. Referencing is generally clear, but punctuation around linking ideas needs improvement to establish better flow. Overall, the organizational structure is easy to follow, supporting a Band 6.0 score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, such as 'extended period', 'current studying', and 'maintenance issue' (implied by the shower description). However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors, including 'orginal' instead of 'original', 'aggrement' instead of 'agreement', and 'planing' instead of 'planning'. Additionally, phrases like 'shower is keep on dripping' demonstrate awkward collocation and lexical inaccuracy. While these errors do not impede overall communication, they restrict the lexical score to Band 5.5, as vocabulary control lacks the precision and consistency required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response displays a mix of simple and moderately complex sentence forms, such as 'I am writing this letter to let you know that I wish to stay here for an extended period.' However, there are several grammatical errors and awkward structures, such as 'In my orginal aggrement that it is mentioned that I rent' (redundant clause structure) and 'I also like to mention' (missing auxiliary verb 'would' or 'should'). Punctuation and article usage also show occasional lapses, for example, missing articles before 'no 3 in the George street'. The errors are frequent enough to cause some minor difficulty for the reader but do not obscure the overall meaning, fitting the Band 5.5 descriptors well.

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

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