Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

Dear Owner,

This is Priya. I hope you are doing great. I rent your apartment 6 months ago on lease. I really enjoying here. This apartment is so nice. I now feeling so confortable living here. I know i signed for 6 month contract. however, now i want to extent my contract for one more year. I came here just for my 6 months study. It should be completed in 6 months but i need to increase my study permit for one more year. I need advanced certificate for my job. so, i have to study more. This apartment is really close to my university and my part time job. I really having fun in living here. This is also close to park and plaza. This place is really peaceful. I really want to stay here for one more year. Hope you understand my situation and extend my contract. Im waiting for your respose.

Thank you.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The candidate successfully covers all three bullet points required by the prompt. First, the duration of the requested extension is clearly stated ('extend my contract for one more year'). Second, the change in plans is explained by noting that the study permit needs to be increased because an advanced certificate is required for a job. Third, a problem in the apartment is mentioned, though it appears the student forgot to include the actual maintenance issue in this draft and instead repeated positive aspects. Wait, looking closely at the text, the student did not actually mention a property problem (such as a leaky faucet or broken appliance), but rather listed neighbourhood amenities. However, since the prompt asks to tell the owner about a problem, this bullet point is partially missed or unfulfilled, which impacts the task response. Therefore, the response addresses the first two parts well, but misses the third bullet point completely.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter lacks proper paragraphing, as it is written as one single block of text. Cohesive devices are minimal and basic, relying heavily on simple conjunctions like 'so' and 'and', or starting sentences abruptly. Phrases such as 'I know i signed for 6 month contract. however, now i want to extent my contract...' show poor punctuation and mechanical linking. Although the ideas follow a logical sequence from greeting to stating the purpose, explaining the study situation, and closing, the absence of clear paragraph breaks and the repetitive sentence structures hinder overall cohesion and readability, placing this firmly in the band 5 range.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is quite basic and repetitive ('really enjoying here', 'really having fun in living here', 'really peaceful'). There are multiple lexical and spelling errors, such as 'confortable' instead of comfortable, 'extent' instead of extend, and 'respose' instead of response. While the student attempts some less common phrases like 'study permit' and 'advanced certificate', the frequent spelling mistakes and limited word choices mean the lexical range is narrow and restricted. The errors occasionally cause minor strain for the reader, aligning with the criteria for band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response features a very limited range of grammatical structures. Most sentences are simple and short, such as 'This apartment is so nice' and 'This place is really peaceful.' There are frequent grammatical errors, particularly regarding verb tenses and auxiliary verbs, such as 'I rent your apartment 6 months ago' (instead of rented), 'I now feeling' (instead of am now feeling), and 'I really having fun' (instead of am really having fun). Capitalisation rules are also ignored, with lowercase 'i' used repeatedly. These recurring errors and lack of complex sentence control are indicative of a band 5.0 performance.

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

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